Kairos
Time
I have recently been exploring the topic of Kairos timing. I guess because so many are determined to believe God is going to "step in" at the last moment and make everything right. I'm over simplifying the belief, I realize that and over generalizing to a degree what "many are believing" because it would take me forever to cover every base and opinion. So, dear Reader, take from this blog what you will and know, that I know, that I have made some generalization leaps so I can get to the point of my thought.
Kairos: time appointed (long time, short time) by God for supernatural interjection of His Life Giving Opportunity into real time. (my summarized definition from online sources).
Chronos (Khronos) time refers to minutes and seconds that make up the days and seasons of the year.
In Other words, Kairos is when God Steps In supernaturally to interject His will into our Chronos time. He did this with the coming of Jesus. However, even then, Mary and Joseph had to cooperate. There are other examples (Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses...), and God always works through His people to accomplish His will. That's how He set it up. He loves His creation. He doesn't want to leave them as orphans or abandon his Creation to it's own devices. We have a free will.
Dear Reader, you get the picture, I'm sure (hope).
God is Spirit and He is outside of time as we know it. Since He created time, (refer to Gen 1) by creating the day and night and seasons, then he couldn't possibly be IN TIME. So, outside of Time as we know it, He sees the end from the beginning, thus the phrase, "I am the Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and the End" from Revelation.
Consider the ant, it is very small. What seems like a HUGE obstacle, for us is quite small. We can see it is an easy path for the ant to overcome the obstacle if it will climb over it. We can also see what's on the other side of the obstacle, and if it gives up, turns away and stops to settle for what it knows, we can see what it is giving up. How sad it would be for the little ant (if ants had feelings) to cower in known and reasonable safety behind the obstacle exchanging a lifetime of sweet treats and tunnel worthy ground simply because the instructions to climb over the obstacle seemed too hard, impossible, or foolish to its limited understanding.
Yet, when we harden our hearts (disobedient)to the voice of God, or lack Faith in His goodness, or simply WANT to do things our OWN way, the choice to settle for the known is made all the time.
Just like we could see from our advantage point above with the ant, so too can God can see our entire timeline (past present and future) all at once. He sees the beginning and the end ( Chronos time). He directs our path according to the choices He knows we will make by our own free will( this is my understanding of predestination). He did create us to do the good works. He has prepared in advance for us to do. This makes up what is often referred to as "His Plan" for Humanity being formulated before the foundations of the world were created. This orchestrated tapestry of events is based upon what He knows about us and what He has placed within us (the Church) to accomplish them as a corporate body of believers, each doing their part.
Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Ephesians 1:3-5
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before [a]Him. In love 5 [b]He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
19 ...but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared [a]in these last times for the sake of you 21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God....
But we can choose not to participate. And many do choose not to participate according to the Will and Word of God. They decide instead to feed their own appetites and fulfill their own agendas. They use their own strategy to accomplish great things, or horrible things, and reap the benefits thereof. It is not ideal. It appears like it works, but there is always something lacking in that self-actualizing process of working toward full potential apart from Christ. Much of what we seek is not who we are, but rather purpose and destiny. Truthfully, only Jesus can satisfy that purpose (because He created us and put within each of us what it takes to be and accomplish all we were meant to. To seek this self actualization without first understanind identity is getting the cart before the horse in many respects. This can't be done in isolation and contemplation alone. I know from experience, you will end up chasing your tail (going in mental circles). Identity is found in community. We need the other members of the body of Christ to help define what God has place within us. Why? Because they can see what we cannot. Ever tried to look for a pair of glasses (your own) when you can't see clearly? Not easy. We need someone else who CAN see clearly to help us bring things into focus. AH! THERE THEY ARE!
An appointed time comes in each of our lives, (often more than once), in which we are invited to participate in the plan of God for Humanity and for the Kingdom of God. As in the case of the land owner illustration from Matthew 21, the growers were invited to participate in the producing of the harvest (plant, water, watch over, harvest). The only control they had over the harvest produced was the time and energy they invested in the preparation. The seed was God's creation, The germination was the seeds' responsibility. The Harvest yield was what the seed held within according to God's design. The The growers, having put time and energy into the crop, wanted everything for themselves. Their presumption (they deserve it) led to their arrogance (I should have it) and ultimately to sin (murder). So they killed the servants the land owner sent. Then they killed the son.
Sound familiar? It should. This story is often used as an illustration for the coming of Christ among us and the crucifixion etc.
The point I'm keying in on, however, is that humanity has a responsibility when it comes to Kairos moments. Followers of Christ, obedient to the leading of The Holy Spirit in our lives, are invited to participate and respond for the successful completion of the plan of God that the Kairos moments initiate. But in case we might think that somehow we are in control of God's plan because of our participation (presumption, arrogance), well that would be highly inaccurate. We are not that powerful to thwart God's plan through disobedience.
We are invited to participate in the Kairos moments presented to us by God, and those Kairos moments are not dependent upon us for their success. God's plan for His Kingdom will be accomplished with or without our help. He invites us to participate not because He needs us, but because
We
need
Him
and the way to blessing is through our obedience.
13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, liberation and rescue will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”
It is Good For Us to do as we were designed to do. It is not a good thing, it is the BEST thing. This obedience strengthens our faith. Participation teaches us who we are and to Whom we belong. Our identity in Him is revealed to greater levels and our purpose and destiny gets to leap forward toward the "mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4).
So when a Kairos moment is presented, those who believe, see it as an opportunity. But don't wait for Kairos moments to "fix everything broken" as some are apt to do as if God must do more than he has already done to give us the authority to deal with present struggles and circumstances. With lenses of defeat those who wait for God to
fix it but don't participate in the
fixing when He leads them to do something, are also those who read the news headlines and then seek answers according to the narrative that comforts them. I admit it is comforting to think Jesus is going to come and make it all better as mom or dad, aunt, uncle or grand parent would come and "make it all better" when we were hurt as a child. However we are not
children. We are supposed to put away childish thinking (1 Corinthians 13). Hebrews 3 says, " Do not harden your hearts when you hear His voice as the pharisees did in Jesus day."
We (believers in Christ) have been given all we need in Christ, because of all Christ accomplished, to deal with the world system. The world system will lie to you. They puff up like a big puffer fish and say "look how big I am!" Our response as the Church should be like David facing Goliath, LOOK HOW BIG MY GOD IS IN ME! And in obedience and with His direction, we deal with the world system bringing it into alignment with the Word of God and not allow it to bring us and Truth into alignment with what it (world system) wants or requires when it conflicts with His Word. Sometimes this causes conflict and for the tender-hearted and seekers of harmony this can be a problem. To them, I would ask, Who are you? To Whom do you belong and where is your allegiance? Who is Lord of your life? Christ didn't come to bring peace to a world system, He came to bring an abundant life to His people (John 10). The invitation is for everyone to join Him, exchanging the kingdom of darkness for the Kingdom of Light. (Romans 8). But you must choose this day whom you will serve.
Dear Reader, let us pray as one that we all will seek out the will of God in as much as we are responsible for within our sphere of influence. We pray as Jesus taught, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!" Thank you, Lord, that the kingdom is already among us and we will be faithful to administrate the of the will of God in our lives. We pray that it will then be magnified because we, the church Jesus is building, are many despite what the world would want us to think. We know and declare that the Kingdom of God, according to Romans 14, is "righteousness (right relationship with God), Peace (wholeness) and Joy (gladness, delight) in the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) (KJV). May we continue to walk in the way of Blessing as we obediently follow after Christ.
Amen
There are many more times in Scripture where Kairos is used here's a link for your study:
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2540/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/
