Snap Shots and Video (Ephesians 1:10)

EPHESIANS 1:10 speaks of "...the dispensation of the fullness of times.."

PICTURE / VIDEO

If you have ever taken a picture of yourself or others, with your cell phone or camera, you have captured a moment in time that gives you an impression, but really doesn't tell you much about the person's character; thoughts; ambitions; desires; or life impact. It is simply a "frozen frame" of the individual. However, if you take a video, which is a series of pictures in succession, then all of the "snapshot" pictures now reveal motivation; expression; choices; and character, and you begin to see a glimpse of the personality of the person.

TIME

There are two main words in Greek that refer to time:

CHRONOLOGY

(Chronos), from which we get the word chronology, speaks of the passing of time, whether days; months; years, in a strictly linear fashion, as a term of measuring quantity.

SPECIFIC TIME

(Kairos), which is used in the quoted passage, has no direct English translation, but speaks of 'a period of time'; 'a specific quality of time' and the events dictated within those boundaries.

TIMES - SEASONS

Both words are used in Acts 1:7, where Jesus told His disciples, that it was not for them to know the times (chronos) or seasons (kairos), which the Father had put in His own authority.

BIBLICAL HISTORY

To step back and look at Biblical history, we see the heroes of faith, such as enumerated in Hebrews chapter 11:

Abel, offering a greater sacrifice than Cain, by faith (11:4)

Enoch being translated, by faith (11:5)

Noah, building an ark of salvation, by faith (11:7)

Abraham, went to the land of promise, by faith (11:8-10)

Sarah, received strength to conceive and give birth, by faith (11:11)

Abraham, offered up Isaac, by faith (11:17-19)

Isaac, blessed Jacob and Esau, by faith (11:20)

Jacob, blessed the sons of Joseph, by faith (11:21)

Joseph, spoke of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave commandment concerning his bones, by faith (11:22)

Moses parents, hid him, by faith (11:23)

Moses, chose not to be called, the son of Pharaoh's daughter; left Egypt; kept the passover, by faith (11:24-28)

Israel passed over the Red Sea, by faith (11:29)

Israel saw the walls of Jericho fall, by faith (11:30)

Rahab the harlot, was not destroyed, but received salvation, by faith (11:31).

SNAPSHOT

Many more are mentioned, and even of those that are highlighted, we see, not a moment by moment recording of their lives, but a "snapshot" of events, that changed their lives; the lives of those around them; and the history of all lives.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

In other words, there is no documented recording of Abraham, getting up in the morning; getting his clothes on; having breakfast; brushing his teeth; going off to work, herding the sheep or cattle; etc. What we see, is significant events in the lives of each of those, who walked by faith, no different from everyone of us. We know that all the daily routine took place, but it is the moments of time, within that routine, where events took place; choices were made; and it shaped their lives forever, and those events are what are recorded for us to view, because "...all these things happened to them as examples, and they are written for our admonition..." (1 Cor.10:11), "...for whatever things were written in earlier times, were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope" (Rm.15:4).

ABRAHAM

We first encounter Abraham in a record of genealogy (Gen.11:26-30), and he is already old enough to be married. There is no pre-history of babyhood; childhood; or adolescents; as we already find him of age to marry, and then we start to see his obedience to God (Gen.12:1-4), and he is already 75 years old! Then there are a series of events, where Abraham had several journeys, that led to him making a covenant with God (Gen.12:1-15:21). Next we see the birth of Ishmael, and Abraham is 86 years old (Gen.16:16), and then there is a huge gap of years, and the very next verse (Gen.17:1) Abraham is 99 years old!

VIDEO of PICTURES

The point is that these "snapshots" of his life, when linked together, form a video of pictures that made him "...the father of all them that believe..." (Rm.4:11) and we now "...walk in the steps of that faith of our father, Abraham..." (Rm.4:12).

LIFE CHANGING

The significant life changing events that took place, were the (kairos) of time, and stretched together, they make up the (chronos) of time, or the passing of those events.

TURNING POINT

In ancient Greek literature, (kairos) was summarized as a critical situation in life, not necessarily a negative event, but a turning point, or change in direction or focus, in life, that demanded a decision, and the onus was on the individual, to recognize the decisive point, and to act accordingly.

LIFE CHOICES

What is significant, is that right now, we are making life choices, which may seem miniscule at the moment, but the combination of those actions, or "snapshots" of our lives, are forming a video of our lives, that will impact not only our history, but everyone that we know, and even those we don't know, for time and eternity. The (kairos) of events, and the choices we make within these present opportunities, are forming a chronology of our lives, positively or negatively, impacting our world.

You Are God's Best and God's Best is Yours