Witnesses • Devotion 2: Time Well Spent

Caleb Jones

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.’ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.’” Revelation 7:9-14

For the past couple of years, I have thought so much about time. It is the one thing I cannot have more of. I cannot keep it. I am always running out of it. It is made me extra intentional with how I spend my time. As I read Revelation, I again read it through the lens of time. Our physical bodies are no more and are now faced with eternity.

Here in Revelation chapter 7, we read about the end when every believer finally stands before God. There is no more pain, no more suffering, and no more death. All of us who have professed Jesus as Lord will be standing before the throne of God, praising Him for who He is and what He has done. Verse 9 says that a great multitude that no one could number came out of the Great Tribulation.

This leads me back to the time I have here on Earth. What will my influence be? How many people will come to know Christ because of the life that I lived? So often we get wrapped up in the busyness of life that we do not stop to think about the people that we might impact. I love the illustration Francis Chan gave years ago. He compared our life to this extremely long rope and put a small piece of tape at the beginning of it. He compared our lives here on Earth to that red piece of tape and said most of us live for that small section. We should be living our lives planning for what happens after we die, eternity. Luke 12:40 says, “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” This verse is telling us to plan. Plan for Jesus to come back today. Mark 16:15 adds, “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.’”

We are called to make disciples. We are called to preach the Gospel to the whole world.

So, where will you spend eternity? What about your neighbor? What about your family member? What about your coworker? Who will join you for eternity when we stand before the throne of God?