Resentment is Not You, Beloved (the Time Factor)

To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while. (AA, pg 66)

This passage used to bring me into incredible bondage, all the more because I would fear getting resentful and angry, and then I would get angry about getting angry.

The truth is that we are not holding this world together, nor are we responsible in and of ourselves to make the most of every day.

"My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me." (Psalm 31: 15)

With God, time is not a factor, anyway:

"But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2 Peter 3: 8)

Jesus made the best wine out of water in no time:

"8And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. 9When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, 10And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. 11This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him." (John 2: 8-11)

The best wine takes decades, yet Jesus made the best wine in no time flat. Jesus is the Lord of Time, the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13: 8) Instead of wondering how to use our time, or fearing that we have wasted our time, let us look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith (Hebrews 12: 2).

When we see Jesus, we see God the Father:

"If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him." (John 14: 7)

How does God the Father treat us when we have lost everything, wasting so much of our time?

Look at the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15: 11-32, and you will find the perfect picture of God's grace. The younger son who had blatantly disinherited his father by demanding his inheritance up front, who then squandered his wealth on wild living, who was reduced to feeding pigs and starving for their slop, who remembered who he was (and more importantly who his father is), an returned home.

How did the Father respond?

"And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." (Luke 15: 20)

Not only that, but the younger son received the best robe, shoes for his feet, and the Father's ring, which endowed him with power and authority to conduct business in his Father's name.

For all the money that the younger son lost, he regained and more because of his father's lavish love, and he was even promoted.

Do not worry about lost time. Look to Jesus, and He will restore all that you have lost and provide so much more.