I've talked quite a bit about time since I have started blogging. With a blog title such as this one, it stands to reason, I suppose. However, my recent thoughts about time were quite firmly challenged recently by a Facebook post on time management. It made me look at the whole concept in a new light.
The ancient Greeks had two words for time, you see. Chronos (Χρόνος), which was said in Greek mythology to be the personification of time. In modern Greek the word also means 'year'. However, there is also Kairos (καιρός), which is a Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment (the supreme moment). It's like the references to the word 'serendipity' from my earlier blogs...
While chronos refers to chronological or sequential time, kairos signifies a different sort of time, a moment of undetermined period of time in which something special happens. While chronos is quantitative, kairos is qualitative.
Although I strive to be most efficient in time management so far as chronos time is concerned (I am rarely if ever late, taking pains to ensure I don't miss an appointment, always looking to where I need to be next, and so on), I find that I am really bad in dealing with kairos time (the unexpected, the unplanned). It's something I really struggle with.
It's true of course that God's timing is not necessarily man's timing. That's probably because God works more to kairos time...
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (Contemporary English Version)
God makes everything happen at the right time.
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