Vital Signs and the Clock

Image by osborn.steven via Flickr

When a patient comes into our unit, one of the first things we do is to take her vital signs. These simple measurements, blood pressure, pulse, temperature and respirations, give us a good indication of her overall well-being.

Sometimes we need a way of taking our own spiritual "vital signs", but it is hard for us to be objective about our walk with the Lord and where we stand in our spiritual life. One way we can do this is to take a look how we choose to spend our time.


I heard someone say the other day that "we will use our time doing something, and it is exactly that 'something' which defines us." I found a great deal of truth in this statement, but not necessarily a great deal of comfort. A. W. Tozer said, "What we do when we can choose what to do, says a lot about us."

So what is it we fill our time with when we have the choice? The answer to this question may answer our original question of taking our own spiritual vital signs.

Is our clock filled with those things which glorify the Lord, things which He has called us to do, or do the minutes click away with mindless and perhaps even worthless activities? I must confess to be far to guilty of the latter and not guilty enough of the former. The clock would rise up and testify against me if I professed otherwise.

We all have at one time or another bemoaned the cruel mastery of the clock, but the truth is, each of us are only given a certain number of minutes here on this life to learn the walk of faith, to walk in the Spirit and to yield our members to be conformed to the image of His dear Son. May we each be found to be good stewards of that which our Father has entrusted unto us.