The Clock Is Winding Down

I had breakfast this morning with a friend who always leaves me feeling both challenged and encouraged. I know he left feeling the same. We do that for each other. There’s something powerful about friendships like that, ones that sharpen and stir you toward something greater.

One part of our conversation struck us both in a deep and uncomfortable way. We talked about the tension between our desire to do meaningful work for the eternal Kingdom of God and the reality of living in a world full of distractions, distortions, and detours. Sometimes those distractions don't just slow us down, they stop us altogether. They keep us from starting the very things God may be calling us to do.

We let ideas and callings lie dormant, waiting for a “someday” that may never come.

That thought stuck with me all day.

Earlier this week, another friend passed along a sermon from Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell of 2819 Church. It was about the signs of the times and being ready.  Like really ready. Whether Christ returns in our lifetime or we meet Him when ours is over, the call is the same: Be found faithful.

One specific part of Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 hit me like a freight train:

Matthew 24:6–8
“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

Birth pains. That phrase—Matthew 24:8—landed differently this time.

I’ve read that verse before, and I always assumed “birth pains” meant we still had a long way to go. But that’s not how birth pains actually work. Birth pains don’t start at conception. They don't come in the 1st, 2nd, or even most of the 3rd trimester. They come very near to the end, and as the moment of delivery draws closer, they intensify. They become more frequent and more severe.

That realization opened my eyes.

We are living in the time of contractions. The pressure is mounting. The urgency is growing. The clock is winding down.

Whether Christ returns soon or we meet Him at the end of our personal race, the time to act is now. This is not the season for passive faith. It’s not time to coast, check out, or hope someone else takes responsibility for making Jesus known.

We are the Church.
We are His hands and feet.
And we’ve been given our time, talents, treasure—and even our reputations—to steward for His glory.

That was the conversation at breakfast this morning. It wasn’t just casual encouragement; it was a call to wake up, press in, and step out. Use your gifts. Pick up the cross assigned to you. The Holy Spirit is present and ready to move through anyone who walks in step with Him.

It won’t be easy. But it will be worth it.

So here’s my challenge to you, as it was to me:

Don’t wait.
Not another week, not another year, not for a perfect moment that may never come.
The clock is winding down. Time to take the shots.  

-Mark