Nothing confronts us with our creatureliness quite like the watch that we wear on our wrist or the clock that ticks on our wall. Try and think about no time. It’s virtually impossible for us to do. God, who is outside of time, created time so that we might live each moment that He has given to us for His glory.

We don’t like to face it, but Scripture frequently calls us to face life’s brevity. It tells us that our life is “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). The Bible confronts us with transience in this way not to manipulate us or crush us but in order that we might be sensible. We need to be reminded of how quickly time passes, especially when we are young, because we tend to think that we have more time than we really do.

The Bible almost always addresses us in the now: “Now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Now, in other words, is the time to be reconciled to God. Now is the time to take heed—not someday over the horizon. Now is the time to hold out the gospel message to those around you. You are not to live dominated by the regrets of yesterday or the anxieties of tomorrow. You are not to live as though you will always have a tomorrow in which to do what you should be doing today. You are to face the fact squarely, head on, that the future comes in at the rate of 60 seconds a minute.

The time that God has allotted you is quickly passing by. If you are not careful, it will be gone before you realize it. In Psalm 90, the psalmist prays, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). May this prayer become your own, and may God enable you to be a good steward of the time that He has given to you. Today is a great day to enjoy your salvation and to speak of it. Now is the time. Be sure to use it.