1.7%

How did it happen? When did time away from God become more abundant then time with God? There are 168 hours in the week and most of us will spend less than 3 hours a week with God. I know that there are some of you that spend more than that with Him. Just as I know there are some of you who spend less than that over an entire year. Certainly God is deserves more than 1.7% of our time. After all, He gave it to us.

I began by asking the question-“Is God missing in action?”  Quite honestly if He was we wouldn’t realize it because of the miserable amount of time we spend with Him.

I am going to step out of my own self-imposed boundaries for just a moment by confessing to you something from my private life. 

My ex-wife was gone for three days before I even realized that she had left me.

We had quit spending time with each other years before. After twenty years of marriage we could rarely find anything to share, including time. Other things became more urgent or more appealing. There remained an unassailable security  knowing that at the end of each day she would be there. We would have about 1.7% of our allotted daily time to spend together. That’s 18 minutes for those of you who didn’t pay attention in math class. If you are wondering  was it “quality time”, well I think you already know the answer.

We were experiencing an economy of accord. I was still in love with her, and believe she may have still had love for me.  Love is a powerful force but one that must be in motion to experience all that it has to offer. Hosea’s love for Gomer is evident from the very beginning of the book. Their marriage was strained by Gomer’s adultery. Time was spent apart as she played her games. An incredible illustration of Hosea putting his love for her into motion is recorded in the third chapter. Gomer had apparently displeased her lovers; as a result she was placed on the auction block. The writer tells us in  Hosea 3:2-

“So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and three bushels of barley. Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days, you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you.”

What incredible love. He loved her enough to forgive, loved enough to sacrifice. And then he concludes his colloquy by committing time!     “…and I will live with you.”

What happens when we quit spending time with God? When we stop sharing our joys and our burdens with Him? When we stop talking (praying)? Our busy lives become our priority. Work or play steals time from our relationship with the Creator. Oh we still love Him, and there is security in knowing Him. Sunday morning rolls around and we happily march off to church to spend our 1.7% of time singing His praise.

As time passes it becomes easier to allot our time elsewhere. We become complacent with a mediocre relationship. An that is okay,  or so we think.Our salvation is secure because of His promise. Our hope resurfaces when adversity crosses our threshold. We love Him. And we believe He loves us.

 The motion is missing. What does God see when He looks into our stagnant hearts?

God wants your love; He also wants your time.

This economy of accord is on many levels. Relationships with God are missing in or families, in our churches and communities. A nation whose principals were founded in a belief and relationship with God no longer has time for Him. Globally this story repeats over and over. The very world  He created no longer has time for the Creator.

1.7% is not enough.

I pray that we don’t wake up one day to realize He has already gone.