The issue of time, as space within which worship may be done, has in
recent weeks come home to me with new insights. If one visualises my home
village of Lairg as something of a horseshoe with Little Loch Shin in the
middle, surrounded by three housing townships of Ord Place,
MainSt/Clashbreac and Lochside, you may appreciate why it has been, for
the local Lord's Day Observance Society, of which I happen to be Chairman,
a constant task to keep Sabbath activity on the loch to a minimum.
This summer a local Sailing Club has been formed with announcement of
its first meeting at 11am on a Sunday. I have objected at meetings of the
Community Council and have also spoken with the club's commodore and
remonstrated in terms of the conflict for the worshippers in the local
churches as bordering the loch and also meeting around the 11 o'clock
hour. Also, that attenders at church who might well wish to go sailing
were effectively barred from joining the club!
Response was to the effect that club members had no other time to meet
that was suitable as other days were fully occupied with work etc. There
was no noise emanating from the activity and it made a pretty sight on the
loch. It was done elsewhere and there was no obstacle put in the way of
church attendance for those who would still wish to go.
Lairg's Sabbath observance problem is by no means unique today; but
what it makes so evident is that the Lord' Day is being hijacked. Time as
duration, in terms of the one day in seven which God claims as His own,
comes to be in sharp dispute, and as wrested away by the world for its own
purposes. All major sporting events now have their finale on the Lord's
Day and, mainly for reasons of gain, are more than ready to have their
part in this hijacking of God's own Day.
As I thought over the situation what particularly impressed itself upon
my mind was the solemnity of the situation with regard to the use
as vis a vis the abuse of time. Achievement of any kind
involves the opportunity of space of time for its due accomplishment. Such
is salvation for man and that, "behold, now is the accepted time;etc" (2
Cor. 6;2) : and, such, therefore, the design of the Sabbath keeping. On
the other hand, when time has all flown and when the main work of life
remains as unaccomplished and must now so remain, in what stark relief is
time, squandered and misappropriated on Little Loch Shin, (or wherever),
likely to appear ? !
ALEXANDER
MURRAY
