We would consider it a peculiarity if I claimed to love someone yet refused to spend time with him. I love my son dearly, more than life itself, and one of the most sincere expressions of my love is my desire to spend time with him, be it in reading books, playing a game, watching a movie or even in just going for a walk and having a man-to-man talk while we stroll through the streets of Oakville. As I grow closer to my boy I will find that I want to spend more time with him. Affection can grow only where sufficient time is given. If I spend no time with my son it should not surprise me that our relationship does not grow either. If I say I love him and mean it with sincerity, I will prove it in my choices about how I will spend my time.
Time is something we treasure in our society, especially as we all grow busier and busier and stretch ourselves even thinner, so that we can give less time to more people and activities. One of the greatest compliments a person can receive is the dedication of another person’s time to their relationship. I remember years ago I promoted a concert and brought Petra to Toronto for an evening. All day long we were busy, and I especially found myself running around doing a million tasks, making dinner for two bands and a huge crew, driving people to and from hotels and sorting out any number of last minute details. Yet in that hustle and bustle, at one point John Schlitt, the lead vocalist for the band and my childhood hero, called me over and we sat and talked for a few minutes. That showed me where his priorities were. He would probably have rather been on the phone with his wife or catching a nap on the bus, but instead he took a few minutes to invest some of his time in me and it meant the world to me.
Today is Sunday. When I was growing up we called it the Lord’s Day, for it belongs to the Lord. In six days the Lord made everything we see around us, but on the seventh He rested and called the day holy. Holy means “set apart.” In the temple of Old Testament times there were holy places and tools. They were nothing special in and of themselves – their specialness was in that they were set apart to God. And so it is with Sunday. This is a day we are to set apart to God, to worship and praise and remember and honor Him. We can show Him how much we value our relationship by honoring Him through the way we spend our time. If we say we love God we will want to prove it by spending time with Him. It will be our joy, our pleasure and our honor to do so. Will you?
