Be In Time

Life at best is very brief,
Like the falling of a leaf,
Like the binding of a sheaf,
Be in time!
Fleeting days are telling fast
That the die will soon be cast,
And the fatal line be passed,
Be in time!

Chorus
Be in time! Be in time!
While the voice of Jesus calls you, Be in time!
If in sin you longer wait,
You may find no open gate,
And your cry be just too late: Be in time!

Fairest flowers soon decay,
Youth and beauty pass away;
O you have not long to stay,
Be in time!
While God’s Spirit bids you come,
Sinner, do not longer roam,
Lest you seal your hopeless doom,
Be in time!

Time is gliding swiftly by,
Death and judgment draweth nigh,
To the arms of Jesus fly,
Be in time!
O I pray you count the cost!
Ere the fatal line be crossed,
And your soul in hell be lost,
Be in time!

Sinner, heed the warning voice,
Make the Lord your final choice,
Then all heaven will rejoice,
Be in time!
Come from darkness into light;
Come, let Jesus make you right;
Come, receive His life tonight,
Be in time!

I was not familiar with the words of this song until I heard part of them quoted in a sermon a few months ago.  I did not, however, feel led to send this song out as a “Hymn of the Week” for obvious reasons.  This song is about a subject that is difficult to talk about.  The subject of death.  Of judgement.  Of the finality of life.  It is a topic that we don’t like to dwell on.  We recognize that death is a part of life.  As Christians, we understand that death is a result of sin entering our world.  But it is not necessarily something that we want to spend a lot of time thinking about.  Over the past 30 days, however, there have been two unexpected deaths in my circle of friends – the step-mother of a family friend at church, and the father of a friend and co-worker.  Both of these deaths were tragic.  These losses are painful for the family members now, and their loss will be felt by the family for a long time.

The wonderful thing about the Bible is that it doesn’t avoid tough, every day realities like death.  Scripture is filled with comfort for those that have experienced loss.  Scripture gives us hope that we will see our loved ones again one day in Heaven.  At the funeral I attended Sunday, one of the speakers spoke from John 11 and quoted the words of Jesus when He said “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”  Most of the time I hear that verse, the speaker stops with “shall never die.”  But on Sunday, this pastor finished the verse by saying “Believest thou this?”  You see, Jesus got to the heart of the matter with Martha.  He asked her a tough question – “Believest thou this?” or put another way “Do you believe in me and believe what I am saying?”  That is the critical question of life.  It is the crux of the message of this hymn.  Do you believe in Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you put your trust in Him?  I am grateful today that the individuals that passed away could answer like Martha did in John 11 “Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God.”  I praise God for the testimony of Lindy Watts and James Dunn because they lived lives that were testimonies of God’s saving grace.

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “Like the falling of a leaf” – In Cleveland this time of year, there are not a lot of leaves falling from the trees.  But in my mind, I can picture a lone leaf falling from the oak trees around my house.  It gently falls.  It twists in the wind.  It floats up a little, and then comes back down.  It does not however stay in the air forever.  It eventually will fall to the ground.  It doesn’t take long.  There are slight delays along the leaf’s journey, but a journey from the top of the tree to the ground below is inevitable.  Our lives are no different.  We go from being green and productive in one season of live to aging and dying in the fall and winter season.  “Life at best is very brief, like the falling of a leaf.”

• “The die will soon be cast” – I will be the first to admit I don’t know a whole lot about die casting.  I know that there is a process where one heats metal to the point where it is in a molten state.  It is then poured into a cast, and then allowed to cool.  Once set, there’s not a whole lot you can do with it.  It is set.  It is finished. The same is true with our life and eventual death.  When death comes, we no longer have second chances.  We don’t have another bite at the apple.  Our decision to accept or reject Christ will seal our eternal destiny.  Our die will be cast.  If we have accepted Christ’s free gift of salvation, we will spend eternity with Jesus.  But if we have rejected Him over and over and over again, our “die will be cast and the fatal line will have passed.”

• “Fatal line be crossed” – Have you ever heard someone say “You have crossed the line.”  It typically means you overstepped your bounds.  You have said something that is just too mean, too critical, or too hurtful and your actions will now cost you something.  This verse reminds us that the same is true in life.  There is a line that one day will be crossed by all of us (save those that are raptured by the Lord).  There are no “I’m sorry’s” then. There are no “let me take that back.”  The fatal line will be crossed and there will be no longer any hope of redemption – only a painful expectation of judgement.  

In looking up the history of this hymn, I discovered it was written by one of the most prolific writers in history – a man named “Anonymous.”  This particular song has no author attribution. I could only find a little about the person that wrote the music to the song, but I could not find any specific details about an author.  I sure wish I knew the circumstances behind this song.  Was it written by an old man on his death bed who found the Lord and was inspired to tell others to not wait?  Was it written by someone who unexpectedly lost a loved one who had put off making a decision for Christ?  I don’t know the answer to this.  What I do know is that the message of this hymn is for every man and women.  It is an urgent message to heed the Spirit’s call.  To listen to God’s knocking on the door of your heart. 

I pray today that you will share the warning of this song with an unbeliever.  Time is ticking away.  The sands of time are sinking.  We are not promised tomorrow.  Life is but a vapor.  Today is the day of salvation.  Be in time!!!