Paul preaching till midnight

A MAD RUSH TO THE CLOCK

I have to tell a true story on myself. In the past I have shared with our
church that while ministering in Africa it was not unusual for me to speak 1
to 2 hours on Sunday morning (It was the custom there). This past Sunday
morning I was teaching the adult bible class and time literally got away
from me. I normally keep an eye on the clock in the back of the building so
that I can judge the time left in class. I always make sure to stop in
plenty of time for folks to get settled for our worship service which
follows.

This week I keep looking at the clock and thinking, time sure is going slow
this morning, but I was so involved in the class I didn't really think
anything about it. Finally after I had covered more than the material I had
planned I looked at the watch on my wrist and saw I had gone 10 minutes past
where the class should have stopped. The clock on the wall had stopped.

I did make a couple of observations about this. First, everyone there was
very gracious to me and my being "long winded". Second, there was a mad rush
to get new batteries in the clock before I got up to preach!

Now, is there a spiritual application to this happening? The first that
comes to mind is about Paul preaching till midnight and a young man dying
from it, but there has to be more to it than that! How about Mark 13:31-33,
where Jesus says we need to keep better track of the time gives us. He
points out: "Heaven and earth will disappear, but My words will never
disappear. However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will
happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son Himself. Only the Father
knows. And since you don't know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay
alert and pray!"

Keep track of time is a problem for many of us, especially when we are
covered up with so many demands for our time in this world. It's easy to
loose track of the things which are really important isn't it. Let's make a
special effort not to do that in our lives, because as Jesus said, "no one
knows" just how much time we have left.

Russ Lawson