Time - A Finite Resource
It is good to be frustrated that we can’t do all we would like to do. That tells us we are not the driving force in this world. The Holy Spirit builds the Kingdom; we are the workers, not the architects.
- Mark R. Rushdoony,
I was thinking about how fast the month is going by and realized how often we note the rapid passing of time. Time seems to pass even more quickly when you have more things on your to-do list then you can get to.
Time is a part of God’s creation that limits us, so its passing cannot go unnoticed. If we don’t admit it when we look in the mirror, we see it as our children and grandchildren grow older. The older we get the shorter our life seems to be.
Time is a finite resource and one that we must use. A hymn now seldom sung urged us to “work for the night is coming, when man’s work is o’er.”
It is good to be busy, and we should see our day-to-day activities as ways to serve God and His Kingdom. Man was made to work even in Eden. It is God’s purpose for us. When God puts work before us, He is saying our life has a purpose, whether we understand its relevance to His Kingdom or not.
It is also good to be frustrated that we can’t do all we would like to do. That tells us we are not the driving force in this world. The Holy Spirit builds the Kingdom; we are the workers, not the architects. The rule we have to gauge our usefulness in the Lord’s work is faithfulness. Without faithfulness, God will not bless our labors. When Israel, then Judah, abandoned God, He destroyed their monarchy, their nation, and even His temple before resuming His work with a remnant from another generation.
We do not know what the Kingdom of God will look like in 100, 500, or 1,000 years. All we can do is be faithful to it now in its present form and so be laborers in growth.
- Mark R. Rushdoony
Mark R. Rushdoony graduated from Los Angeles Baptist College (now The Master’s College) with a B.A. in history in 1975 and was ordained to the ministry in 1995.
He taught junior and senior high classes in history, Bible, civics and economics at a Christian school in Virginia for three years before joining the staff of Chalcedon in 1978. He was the Director of Chalcedon Christian School for 14 years while teaching full time. He also helped tutor all of his children through high school.
In 1998, he became the President of Chalcedon and Ross House Books, and, more recently another publishing arm, Storehouse Press. Chalcedon and its subsidiaries publish many titles plus CDs, mp3s, and an extensive online archive at www.chalcedon.edu. His biography of his father will be published later this year (2024).
He has written scores of articles for Chalcedon’s publications, both the Chalcedon Report and Faith for all of Life. He was a contributing author to The Great Christian Revolution (1991). He has spoken at numerous conferences and churches in the U.S. and abroad.
Mark Rushdoony has lived in Vallecito, California, since 1978. His wife, Darlene, and he have been married since 1976. His youngest son still resides with him. He has three married children and nine grandchildren.