"Give me more time! Give me time!"
[...] to have time for another, although in the abstract this says little, is in reality to manifest in essence all the benefits which one man can show to another. When I really give anyone my time, I thereby give him the last and most personal thing that I have to give at all, namely myself.
- Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics I/2, 55.
This is how to be generous when you are rich. And of course, most importantly, God has time for us.Eight points for naming the source of the title of this post (without using Google - you'll appreciate it more if you spend a little time remembering).
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After having been disappointed AGAIN by a friend who is notorious at making- and then breaking- appointments (of the social variety) Dave always asks me "Why won't he love me with his time?!?!"
This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays kings, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down.
"Time! Time!" From The Hobbit.
I never could have remembered it even if I tried very hard, but I happened to be reading that very chapter this afternoon!
A very timely response! Eight points. I've always loved that exchange (and recently re-read that chapter myself).
This sadly is probably a large factor in why I'm always late to everything...to get there any earlier is personally costly!
With the points gone, I felt free to see what Google would give me. Guess what came up as the #1 link?
On a recent trip to Sydney two people made time to for me - one was Ben Witherington - He graciously accepted an invitation to have a coffee with me. And, of course the other was a gracious gentleman who took the time to come out of his way to pick me up and show me around the beautiful city and its lovely gardens. Both gave me the gift of their time. Thank you Byron!
Time is a wonderful equality; it is held in equal measure by all levels of society. When shared amongst friends and strangers it is the richest gift a person can give. It is free but valuable, it is available to all but not always appreciated and it can never be redeemed thus, its worth is indescribable.
Byron, am I correct in thinking that Barth talks about time in relation to the resurrection?
Hey Byron, I tagged you in this lame meme I invented:
http://mpjensen.blogspot.com/2008/05/in-praise-of-teachers-meme.html
Ah yes, but sometimes the "richest" are the ones who are "time poor".
I was thinking Tolkien and wracking my brains about it; is it Gandalf outside the gates to Moria? Or Gandalf in Minas Tirith waiting for news of Frodo and Sam? Similar, but no cigar. Of course, I had forgotten the hobbit...
The combination of the title and photo doesn't help my tendency to worry too much about missing trains (or planes).
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