The two most frequently used words for Time in New Testament Greek are chronos and kairos. Chronos is used to describe “clock time”—the ceaseless move of the hour, minute and second hands around the face of a watch or a clock (numerals if they’re digital).
Chronos is, well, chronological. We may be early or late but it never is. Chronos time is relentless, waits for nobody, and works against those who cram too much into it. In Youth and Old Age it seems to move at a snail’s pace, In between, though, it seems to speed by so fast that we keep running short of it! God gave us chronos time so we could plan appointments, run schedules, and not waste time—in short, organize ourselves efficiently.
Kairos is opportunity time—a moment grasped, the hour seized! Kairos works within chronos. We make the most of opportunities that suddenly present themselves, knowing they won’t last.
When the evangelist Philip was told by the Spirit to “Join this chariot”—he ran! In so doing, he caught the chariot, and
the chapter the eunuch was reading—Isaiah 53. If Philip had walked, the eunuch would not have been saved, Ethiopia would not have heard the gospel, and the promise in Isaiah 56:3-5 would have mystified the already puzzled eunuch.
When God says “Go!”—run! It may be the only opportunity you’ll get to win that seeking soul!