In my last perspective, I wrote on “Take Time to Pray”, encouraging us to set aside time to pray. In this perspective, I hope to encourage us to set aside time to reflect. There are many things which are getting our attention and there are areas in our life which require time to reflect upon. We need to do something about it. We need to set aside time for it.
In the Oxford dictionary, “to reflect” is “to think deeply or carefully about.” When we reflect on our life and ministry, we need to allow ourselves time to do them. We cannot rush through it and expect immediate results out of it. During such time, if we sincerely want to be fruitful in it, we need to take time to reflect. How is your life? How is my life? What have you been doing lately? Why aren’t you involve in the life of the Church? We often do not ask seriously about these real questions. We assume you are alright and I am alright. After all, every Sunday, we do see each other in Church, right? We thought we know each other but sometimes, we do not really know. Hence, there is a real need for us to take time to reflect: to reflect upon our walk with God, to reflect upon our relationship with the people in Church, to reflect upon the impact of our life on others, and the list can go on.
Sometimes, we are just going through the motion, living each day without aim and purpose! We need to set things right at the start. We can’t go on our life without reflecting upon it. We are called to live our life meaningfully and purposefully. If we do not set aside time to reflect, we will not know how we have been and why we are doing what we are doing and also where we are actually heading. It is when we take time to reflect, we can hear God speaking to us and directing us. We will then be able to align our will with God’s Will. During such time, we will know how we actually are in terms of our walk with God and of our service to Him and His people. Hence, it is good to take time to reflect upon your life.
After a busy day of work, we need to have time for rest and reflection. In Mark 6: 31, Jesus said to His disciples, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” Before this, the disciples of Jesus were busy doing the work of the Lord. They were excited about what they had been doing for Jesus. They told Jesus all that they had done and taught. They needed rest and reflection. So, Jesus told them to do so. Likewise, for us, after each day of work, we need rest and reflection. When we take time to rest, we will also take time to reflect. This helps us to get things in their right perspective. When we reflect upon the things in our life which our gracious God has been doing, we will be able to give thanks to Him for seeing us through that day. When we acknowledge God in all our ways, He will make our paths straight.
By taking time to reflect, we will also examine how we have walked day by day. In Ephesians 5:15-16, the Apostle Paul was instructing the Ephesian believers to “look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Knowing that many unpleasant things are happening in this world, we cannot live our life carelessly. We need to understand what the will of the Lord is. The Lord wants us to live our life carefully, i.e. wisely. It is a wise decision and move to take time to reflect upon your life. This is one best way which you can make the best use of your time. Let us, then, look carefully how we walk, i.e. how we live. As I have mentioned earlier, when we take time to reflect, we can hear God speaking to us and directing us. Therefore, we would understand what the will of the Lord is for us. This should spur us to walk in obedience to the will of the Lord.
By taking time to reflect, we will also keep a close watch on ourselves and our teaching. In 1 Timothy 4:16, the Apostle Paul reminded Timothy to “keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” We want to save both ourselves and our hearers, right? At the end of the day, we do not want to disgrace the Name of our Lord Jesus. We want to live a life that is worthy of the Lord, a life that brings glory and honour to His holy Name.
So, let us not neglect the discipline of “taking time to reflect”. Let our life count for Christ and for eternity! Let our life be renewed and refreshed through our time of reflection! Hence, let us not hesitate about it but put it into practice.
