Deadline

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” (Matthew 24:36).

Dead Christ (Philippe de Champaigne)

A lot of the work that I do is based around deadlines.

I have a responsibility to get something finished and I am forced to get it done whether I wish to or not.  Usually, the deadlines that I deal with involve money.  And while there is really nothing terribly important about money – it is bits f paper that really mean nothing after all – it tends to make people unreasonable when deadlines are concerned…

The other day I was dealing with a particularly strict deadline, and it was causing me considerable stress, because I was stuck completing a task late into the evening when I would have much rather been sitting with my family and enjoying some nice peaceful time with them…

And as I was working through the issues associated with that particular deadline I realised that there were so many distractions to getting the task at hand done.  There were my children (who are really no distraction at all), there was my other work, there was the cooking and the cleaning and all the other bits and pieces.  And after all of that I still needed to focus and get the job done.

Finally, I did complete the task – very late but before my deadline.

And there I sat thinking about that deadline, and actually reflecting on my spiritual life.

You see, I live with an unmoveable deadline.  And you do too!

For my Earthly life is as long as God chooses for it to be.  And then it will be over – in a blink.  One moment my eyes will be open, and my heart will be beating, and the next, they will close forever and my heart – which has served me so faithfully all the days of my life – will beat no more…

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” (Matthew 24:36)…

And that is a sobering thought.  Because I cannot really plan for that.  I cannot make sure I have confessed my sins the moment before.  I cannot ensure that I have offered apologies to those who I have hurt (knowingly and unknowingly in my life).  I cannot quickly tidy my room or clean up my desk.  My accounts will not be in order and all my secret things will be exposed.

And when that deadline comes – no matter how much I try to prepare for it – it will come like a thief in the night, and I will be left with nothing except the state of my soul.

And it occurred to me that all of the things that I do the stretch things out and extend things to buy myself time so that I can finish the work at hand – all of those things are impossible for me to complete because I am going to be left with nothing – not even the day or the hour…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.