The New Year is well on its way now.  2008 is relegated to the history books and 2009 is ready to fill its pages.

Just before the end of this past year, I heard that the powers that be (such as Robert Frost aptly described in his short poem, “Departmental,”—“those whose work it is to find out God, and the nature of time and space”) had added one second to the length of the year 2008.

To the best of my limited knowledge, the length of a year has been 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds long.  So I suppose that we change that to 47 seconds for last year.  The people who made this change cite a slight slowing in the orbit of the Earth around the Sun for the difference.  Were Robert Frost still alive, he might see this as a “wearying” in the ways of the universe or a “fatigue” setting in to this good old earth.

I am glad that there are those who are so careful as to measure and keep track of such things. It is important for everything from space travel to keeping good time on my kitchen clock.  But I am much more grateful for a Sovereign God, who rules all aspects of all creation, and of time and space.

“He changes times and seasons.” (Daniel 2:2), and “With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day.” (II Peter 3:8) It is a great comfort to know that the One who loves us, who gave Himself to redeem us and who is coming to receive us unto Himself, is the one who holds time in His hands.

And until the day that this Sovereign Creator brings time to a close, let’s keep trying to keep accurate time, but let’s be even more careful to serve Him with the time he has given us.