Sometimes God Speaks While You're Still In Your PJ's

English: Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is not on what we spend

the greatest amount of time

that molds us the most,

but whatever exerts

the most power over us.

Chambers, Oswald (2010-10-22). My Utmost for His Highest, Updated Edition (p. 159).

Discovery House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

This morning, before I had even gotten out of bed, I read the above words and felt my brain explode.  Here’s the comment that I wrote in a Kindle note attached to the above quote:

True, but if we are more strongly controlled by temporal things than by the Spirit and the Truth, then we will force a greater connection between power and time. In other words, if I am controlled by temporal things, I will insist on dedicating more and more of my time to those temporal things. I won't be able to stand it any other way.

But there's an inverse reality here as well! If I am controlled by temporal things, then I will refuse to give time to anything that I fear will control me. So, for example, as a person inadequately sanctified (and therefore temporally controlled by default), I am terrified to spend too much of my time on drudgery, because I dread becoming a drudge. Time spent = control given. Escapism is a loud acknowledgement that I am a slave of Time instead of a freed citizen of Eternity.

But if, as a Gospel-sanctified person, I submit to the power of God alone, then power and time are severed from each other. Time spent doing drudgery does NOT give drudgery power over me, to define me. And I will not feel the need to slavishly devote all possible time to temporal pleasures, because they no longer have the power to define our create me.

So then, sanctified freedom from the power of time actually frees me to do God's Will (loving and serving) within the confines of time.

And what is death, but stepping outside of time and into eternity? So then, Christ's call to "die daily" includes a call to sever the connection between time and power in my life, freeing me to obey Him by living (loving and serving) within the confines of Time as a free citizen of Eternity.

Now, I could spend a loooong time clarifying and expanding on that, but I just want to leave it be, at least for the time being.  If you feel like gnawing some marrow out of that dry bone, go for it!  If not, well, just remember that I wrote it in my pink-with-black-scotty dog pajamas, and feel free to walk away.