Joel Luke – Life with Faith

We all say “I need more time”, or “I don’t have time”  and it comes up again and again in our household with two working adults parenting.
It’s often said, “If only I had the time, I would do X, Y, or Z.” But that raises a question, why are we not making the time?
Last week I volunteered at a community lunch, a meal that offers not just hot food, but warmth, conversation, and friendship. Normally, I would have been working. Yet as I served and listened, I found myself quietly saying, “Thank you for this time.” allowing me to give back to our community.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1–8, we read that “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” This passage reminds us that our lives are made up of different moments: times to grow, to rest, to celebrate, and to care for others. Each season has its purpose, and one of those important seasons is a time to give back.
Giving back to the community is a way of using our time with purpose. God gives each of us opportunities, not just for ourselves, but to share with others. When we give our time to help someone, like listen to a friend, or volunteer we are living out the truth that everything has its season. We actively choose to make our time meaningful, aligning ourselves with God’s grace.

The writer of Ecclesiastes continues:
“God has made everything beautiful in its time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
When we give our time, we take part in that beauty. We join in God’s ongoing work of restoration, bringing kindness, healing, and hope into the spaces we inhabit.

This truth reminds me of my Sunday Three Project, where I explored the beauty of people and the value of presence. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:
“There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence.”
Emerson’s idea of intrinsic beauty, that something, or someone, is perfect as they are in the present moment resonates deeply with how I approach ministry. Each person, regardless of where they are on their faith journey, has inherent worth. They do not need to be more, do more, or believe more to belong. They are already enough, loved and known by God.
When we recognise and honour the beauty of others as they are, we reflect  God’s love.
Andrew Rumsey, in English Grounds, reflects on Emerson’s Self-Reliance and notes that while Emerson celebrates individual genius and presence, this emphasis risks isolating the person from the wider community. Rumsey observes that faith must always hold together the personal and the communal,  the soul that stands before God, and the body that belongs to the Church.
This tension, between personal reflection and communal belonging is one I hold closely to youth ministry. I encourage young people to embrace their own faith journey, to recognise their worth before God, and to see themselves as part of a greater whole. Time spent together, sharing stories, laughter, and silence, shapes us into the community God wanted.

The Rose and the Time.
Emerson’s rose reminds us that beauty often exists only for a moment, fragile, fleeting, and yet complete. The rose does not rush its bloom or cling to the past; it simply is, radiant in the time it has been given.
So too are our moments of service, our acts of kindness, and our times of stillness. They may feel brief, but they carry eternal significance. In God’s timing, no moment of love is ever wasted. Each one becomes part of something larger,  the unfolding beauty.

The rose fades, yet its fragrance lingers; just as our time, once given, leaves traces of grace in the lives we touch. Though our earthly time is short, we are invited to live in a way that extends beauty beyond ourselves through generosity, compassion, and peace.
To give time is to share in God’s rhythm to live as if each day, like the rose, is a sacred season. When we pause long enough to notice the beauty before us, we begin to see God’s hand in every passing moment.
So may we live in that beauty and wonder a little longer.
May we give more time, show more love, and bring more peace.
For though our time is brief, its beauty, when given to God, lasts forever.
So, what are you doing with the time that has been given to you?