“But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8).”
Time’s up…Oxford, England
What if…I told you it’s 9 o’clock and by 10:30 you’ll be dead? How would you spend your 90 minutes, and what would really matter? This is the gist of Peter’s life-changing verse above.
Peter’s quoting Moses who wrote Psalm 90, the oldest Psalm in the Old Testament, and warning us not to miss this one fact…in light of eternity, from where God views time (and us), our life is only about 90 minutes long. Peter says this is a fact, and if true then King David ruled Israel three days ago (1,000 BC) and Jesus has only been gone for a weekend (33 AD).
The biblical math from eternity’s perspective is that a day equals 1,000 years so living to 100 is about two hours. Psalm 90:10 says that 70 is average, but 80 if we’re healthy, so let’s say for simplicity’s sake that with modern medicine you live to be 90. The math is personally unnerving since I’ll be 60 next March, so my 90 minutes is down to around half an hour or so on Earth. And I’m excited about that!
In light of 90 minutes, it’s ironic, even stupid, that we fret about money, careers, mortgages, debt, possessions, health, diets, inheritances, retirement, and death. If you believed Moses and Peter, and you thought you only had 90 minutes, minus your current age, how would you spend those precious minutes here with Jesus waiting to meet you there?
Another 90 minutes
Albert Einstein, a math genius, said of Time (foolishly), “I never think of the future, it comes soon enough.” His 90 minutes were only 76 minutes (he died in 1955). The Bible tells us to think about the future because we’re all headed there, and at the end of Time Jesus is there…alive, risen from the dead, and waiting as Friend or Judge. You’ll see Him soon, in just a few minutes, so choose wisely how you use your remaining clock ticks.
Albert Einstein
Jesus loves you and what you do with His death on the cross for your sin determines your relationship to Him, both now and at minute 91. If you are not sure about Heaven, 100 percent positive that you’ll be greeted as a friend after your 90 minutes, you can be sure (1 John 5:11-13). You can make your peace now by receiving Him (John 1:12), and extend your 90 minutes…forever.
Einstein’s Office on the day of his death
Just give up; admit your sin, genuinely turn from it, and ask Jesus to forgive you (Romans 10:9). It’s simple, but serious. This is a life-changing verse because it’s an eternity-changing fact. You have scant minutes to decide if it’s true because your life is just a smoky wisp. I hope you won’t “let this one fact escape your notice,” and that you’re as excited to see Jesus in 5,400 seconds as I am, as Lord, Savior, and Friend.
YHM 