1 Corinthians 7:29-31 But this I say, brothers, the time is short: it remains, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;… No Christian will receive this as a sad announcement, or who has lost those whom he loves, and has a good hope beyond the grave. His only ground of regret is that the work he has to do is too great for the space in which he has to do it. And this is the thought which the word "short" most literally conveys. It means "shut in," "straitened for room." And this thought was natural to a mind like Paul's — so full, so busy, with large undertakings. I. THERE ARE THREE REASONS WHY TIME IS SHORT. 1. To the eye that has been dwelling on eternity, all time, everything we can measure, must be short. 2. Good occupations make shortness. There is a great deal to do. Alas! for the man who finds any day of his life too long. 3. No happy man complains that the hours run sluggishly; and happiness is every man's duty. To those who are infinitely happy there is no time at all. II. I SPEAK TO THOSE WHO WISH IT TO BE SHORT. 1. "This I say, brethren, the time is short," before the Elder Brother comes. The time is short for all your earthly brotherhood; and soon will be the heavenly brotherhood, when the whole family will meet in their Father's house. Already Jesus is on His way, and He travels quickly. 2. What makes time longer than it is, is to clog it with the past or encumber it with the future. If you desire that time should feel short, live straight to the present; the present duties, joys, trials. You have nothing to do but with the passing moment. Don't be long about anything. What is to be said, say it; what is to be done, do it; what is to be thought, think it; what is to be prayed, pray it; what is to be suffered, suffer it. Concentrate. Many persons are too long in their religious duties; they may do better by more condensation. 3. The time is too short — (1) To trifle with. (2) To be speculative; what we want is to be exceedingly practical. (3) For fretting about little things. The future we care about may never come; and if it comes will be only for a little while. (4) To hoard up, when "this night thy soul may be required of thee."(5) To quarrel, when we are all about to go in together to stand before His judgment seat. (6) To mourn for those who are gone when they will so soon come back again. (7) To weep — when God is so soon to "wipe away all tears from our eyes." 4. But it is not too short — (1) To pause and feel its shortness. (2) To do something for God before we "finish the work which He has given us to do." (J. Vaughan, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; |
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