When you go to work each day, do you view the time spent there as chronos time or kairos time? When you keep the grandchildren for three days while their parents have a special time together, is that chronos time or kairos time for you? On Sunday morning when you go to church is the time in the service chronos time or kairos time?
The Greeks used different words to describe different approaches to time. When the reference was to the length of time spent in a place or activity, the word used was chronos. It is the root of the word chronology. Basically the word marks time. It has a beginning point and an ending point and says nothing about the quality of the place or experience.
A chronos time approach, for example, views work as time spent — clock in and clock out. The emphasis is on the duration between the starting point and the ending point. Likewise chronos time emphasizes the duration between the moment the grandchildren are dropped off and the moment the parents walk through the door to pick them up. The focus is on the length of time spent.
Similarly with a church service chronos time turns what is supposed to be a worship service into an endurance event. One has to endure the moments between the first musical notes signaling the beginning of the service and the final amen that ends the benediction.
Kairos time ignores the length of the activity and focuses instead on the quality of the experience. Biblical scholars often say kairos time is “pregnant with possibilities.”
For example, at work kairos time emphasizes the possibility of accomplishment, the possibility of personal growth or the possibility of helping others. Instead of counting the hours, minutes and seconds the grandchildren are one’s responsibility, kairos time points to the possibility of new insights into the personalities of the grandchildren, the possibility of a special experience that will become a favorite family memory or the possibility of helping the parents nurture their relationship as husband and wife.
A kairos approach to time recognizes the possibility of being encouraged by fellow believers when one gathers for worship, the possibility of God’s Holy Spirit working in one’s life as a result of worship or the possibility of new insights into the nature of God and one’s relationship to Him.
Again chronos time focuses on duration. Kairos time emphasizes possibilities.
When Jesus announced in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe the gospel,” He used the word kairos for time. Those who heard Him and those who read Mark’s account understood Jesus was talking about the possibilities of the moment. The promise of God that a Savior would come was fulfilled. It was a decisive point in time. Imagine the possibilities as grace replaced law and the long-heralded kingdom of God was ushered in through the person of Jesus.
Mark makes no reference to a universal clock ticking enough times to reach a certain date. He is not worried about the duration between the first promise of a Savior and the Blessed One’s appearance. Instead Mark points readers toward a kairos moment.
The apostle Paul picks up the same theme when he writes in Ephesians 1:10 about “when the times will have reached their fulfillment.” Again it is kairos that is used for time signifying the possibilities of that moment when God unites all things in heaven and earth together through Jesus Christ.
Not only is kairos used to describe defining moments in time when God acts, the word is used to direct believers in how to live their lives. Colossians 4:5 instructs believers to “redeem the time” (KJV).
Again the word for time is kairos, not chronos. The imagery behind the word is to buy back the moments from evil so the moments can be filled with meaning. The NIV says “make the most of every opportunity.” Why? Because existence is not enough. The apostle’s direction is to seize each opportunity to see what special outcome God might have in store.
Because kairos refers to an indefinite period of time, it can refer to seasons of life as well as to individual moments of life. When it does, the apostle Paul’s instructions are still the same — make the most of every opportunity.
Sometimes Christians feel guilty when changing circumstances necessitate adjustments to one’s service for the Lord. The temptation is to emphasize chronos time. “I have always done … ” one might say. The inference is that one wants to continue doing whatever it may be until some point in the future. The emphasis is on duration rather than possibility. It is chronology rather than quality.
To be sure, persistence is a Christian value, but so is discernment.
The principle of redeeming the time or making the most of every opportunity begins with recognizing the changing circumstances. It could be changing seasons of life. It could be the changing seasons of volunteer service. It could be changes in work or family responsibilities.
The biblical principle is to make the most of the new circumstances; to redeem the time in order to see what special things God wants to do at that season of one’s life. Embracing change can be the first step to a kairos experience.
Chronos time counts the number of times the clock ticks between the starting point and ending point of an event. Kairos time values life as “just one thing after another” because that approach to time sees every moment, every experience, every opportunity as “pregnant with possibilities” to see what special thing God wants to do.
May God help each of us not to settle for mere existence but always look for God’s special surprise in each day.
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