Genesis 1:3 “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
Daylight Savings Time - Daylight Standard Time
This weekend we change clocks again. Don’t forget. I have gone to church a couple times when this happened only to find it was the wrong time, I forgot to change my clocks. Thankfully, that was before I became a pastor! I would be very embarrassed not being on time as the pastor.
This clock change got me thinking, what are we really doing? We are trying to make the clock reflect our daylight/night needs better. But, the sun and the rotation of the earth and its tilt have never changed. There is debate that has gone on to cease the clock changing and some places, like Arizona, do not change their clocks every fall and spring.
So, I read from Genesis 1 about God creating the light. God simply spoke into the darkness and said, “Let there be light!” Then God separated the light from the darkness and called the light, day and the dark He called night. Thus was the first “day” created (vs 5).
Light and darkness, day and night. We deal with them every day from the time we are born to the day we die. We do certain things in the day, in the light, and others we save for the dark, the night. For most of us, unless we work the night shift, we work and do most things in the day and sleep at night.
What is interesting to me is that at the end of His creating endeavor God pronounced all His creation, everything He created as good, (vs 31). So, daytime and nighttime, light and dark, are both good. We need them both. Our minds and bodies are created to need both times of light and times of dark. Without them we become a mess and people living in places where there is not a strong day and night often have health issues such as seasonal affective disorder. So too, people who have problems with regular sleep habits have health issues related to that. We need both light and dark, times of activity and times of rest and sleep and we need them on a regular and consistent basis.
We also need other regular period keeping things, clock or calendar like events in our life. We need annual events like Christmas and Easter and yearly birthday celebrations to mark the year and passing of time. We also need weekly events like weekdays and weekends. God made those too with a seven-day week and a 365-day year. These clock-like markers set our life in order and give us a rhythm to life.
There is one other thing to remember and have in our life and that is a rhythm with God. We need a weekly worship event in our life, we need to go to church and worship the Lord. This is another important time marking event and it is more than just a time marking weekly thing to do, it is a necessary part of our life. God’s word says that we need a Sabbath Day of rest, but not just of non-work, as part of that day we need to join with others in worship of the Lord. Regular, on-going worship with the Lord is a life-giving part of our time on this planet. Just as we need light and dark, day and night we need a weekly time to join with others and worship the Lord, sing praises to Him, and reflect on His part in our earthly life. We need God and we need His church and His people in our lives on a regular basis.
This too is an important issue, we will be healthier in body, heart, mind, and soul as we regularly spend time with God and His people in weekly worship.
Come this Sunday – at the new time!
Pastor Gary.