"There is an immeasurable distance between late and too late."
Ever been late? It's not the greatest feeling. You drive faster than usual, often at speeds that are not legal. You run to your appointment and your hair and clothes become a sweaty mess, which negatively impacts your first impression. As it pertains to time, George Bernard Shaw said,
"Better never
than late." That doesn't apply to bill payments ; ) Last night I dreamed I was playing the heroine in a show that required costume changes. The director had not given me the items and showtime was that evening. So I scrambled through my closet to find appropriate costuming. When I went down to the rehearsal hall, my son who was the music director, was teaching this BEAUTIFUL song to a huge choir. It sounded great, they were excited to sing it...but it had tons of lyrics, which they were reading from huge hymnals. I had to break the news that though the song was awesome, with 30 minutes left to curtain, it was too late to memorize the lyrics and present it well to an audience. Dismayed, he told the choir to,
"take five," and the song was cut. This dream was a gentle warning to get to getting because
LATE means doing something or taking place after the expected, proper, or usual time.
George Eliot said,
"It is never too late to be what you might have been." I
love the sentiment, and for many things it is true, but not all. I was a top track athlete in High School, but it's too late now for me to run in the Olympics. Maybe the Senior Olympics, LOL! Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us,
"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." In Hebrew season or
zeman means
appointed or definite time, and purpose is the word
chephets which means
delight, pleasure or desire. God has timing associated with the desires He's placed within us. We can be early, and we can also be late. Paul urged us to walk in in wisdom, redeem the time, and make the most of every opportunity. (Eph. 5:16)
What time is it for you?
William Shakespeare said,"Better to be three hours too soon than a minute too late." Scripture describes the 200 leaders from the tribe of Issachar as men who understood the times and knew the best course Israel should take. (1 Chron. 12:32) Now...the Holy Spirit who lives within us as Believers, guides us into all truth and shows us what is to come (John 16:13). This allows us the assurance that we can be where we need to be at the proper time. The LORD told the prophet Habakkuk to write down what he saw so that others could carry out the future plan, "For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late." (Hab.2:3) As Og Mandino explains above, there is an immeasurable difference between being late and being too late. It's good to know we can be on-time people because we have an on-time God!
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