Acts 1:6-7

Are we there yet?  Like little kids in the back seat of a car, the disciples ask Jesus their question.  Is it time?  Are you going to restore the kingdom of Israel?  The emotions, expectations, hopes and uncertainties that were contained in their question, are common to all of us, at some time in our life.  Being a Christian does not change that.  The Jewish people believed that someday God would restore Israel as a powerful nation, and it would become the center of the world.  The disciples had not yet realized that the kingdom of God is different from the kingdom of Israel.  Jesus did not take this opportunity to correct their beliefs concerning the political aspirations of the Jews.  Rather he took this opportunity to speak to them about the importance of knowing and responding to God’s timing.

People say, “Timing is everything.” In earthly matters that is mostly true.  Saying or doing something too early or too late can mean the difference between success and failure.  Wise men make an effort to know the best times to buy and sell, plant or harvest, and to push or pull back.  It seems normal for Christians to seek to know spiritual timing by the same methods, but that is not God’s will.  Christ knew that the disciples needed the Holy Spirit.  They needed the Holy Spirit for many reasons, but timing was one of the most important.

The ancient Greeks had two words for time: chronos and kairos. The former refers to chronological or sequential time, while the latter signifies a proper or opportune time for action.  Jesus uses both words when he says God the father determines the time or dates.  He had given his disciples a mission to spread the gospel.  They would fail if they depended upon earthly wisdom to determine the timing of their ministries.  God’s ministry depends upon God’s timing, and earthly wisdom cannot discern that.  Our relationship with the Holy Spirit is essential; He tells us what time is God’s time.