Tempus Fugit
Where has all the time gone? Time is not on our side. Time keeps on ticking away. It is the only commodity we can’t get back. Have you ever found yourself wondering just where it all went?
With “time” being a significant factor in the books I’m working on, I’m surprised I’ve never talked about it much, except to complain that there isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done, especially writing. But I’m not here to talk about that.
It used to be that “Tempus Fugit” or “time flees” was engraved on many clocks, which gives us the constant reminder that time is short, and not to waste them. One famous clock, though, has a much different saying on it, one derived from Psalm 37. Big Ben, the famous clock/tower/bell in London, has a plaque in the clock room with these words: “All through this hour / Lord be my guide / And by Thy power / No foot shall slide.”
Much of that tower was finished by 1856, when Ben and Amy travel to Victorian London. The notable exception was the big bell, the one they would later call “Big Ben.” A larger bell had been made, but then broke at the construction site. The second one cracked, and had to be fixed, and is still striking a (slightly) sour note to this day.
Kind of reminds me of life. We try, we struggle, and things break, or crack, and what we have left sounds a bit sour. But Big Ben (the clock) was known for it’s reliability in a day when things weren’t all that reliable. Even if we are cracked (aren’t we all?), we need to pursue that faithfulness, and seek after God’s heart, despite our limitations.
‘Cause time is short, and sometimes our chances to get things right are limited too. Tempus fugit indeed. But there is hope, in the One and only who is not trapped in time at all.
Solomon said it best, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”