October 21, 2002  

AN EXTRA HOUR

Kids beg for an extra hour at bedtime. College students would like an extra hour to cram for a crucial exam. Young lovers try to stay together for an extra hour before kissing goodnight. An extra hour would sure help me clean up this mess on my desk!

What would you do with an extra hour? This weekend will give you an opportunity to decide, because Saturday night we're due to turn our clocks back, marking the end of Daylight Savings Time. I don't know how they magically create an hour—Poof! Then in April—Poof!—they'll make one disappear.

I suppose most of us will invest our extra hour in a little more sleep. That's probably a pretty good decision, since we're usually running on top speed and need to cool down.

There is an hour yet to come—we can call it The Hour. Jesus talked about it in his Olivet Discourse:

"About that day and hour no one knows .... People will be eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage and then will be the coming of the Son of Man .... Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what hour your Lord is coming .... Therefore you must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour .... The Master will come on a day and an hour when we do not expect him." (Matthew 24:36, 42, 44, 50 paraphrased)

We'll magically add an hour this weekend, and we'll treat it casually, thoughtlessly. But we should see this bonus hour as possibly being The Hour, the moment of Jesus' return. We should look upon every hour that way, valuing each one as if it were our last on earth.

"Even so, come Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20)

–Pastor George VanAlstine