“The greatest gift you can give to someone is your
time.” This is what Most Rev. Juan de
Dios M. Pueblos, DD, Bishop of Butuan, said in his Letter of Endorsement to the
booklet ‘Pondering the Word of God – the Anawim Way’.
I used to
think of Time as the least valuable of the three (3) things
(time-talent-treasure) that we can offer to manifest love. The statement of Bishop Pueblos, however,
makes me reconsider my viewpoint.
Bishop
Pueblos says: “When you give someone your time, you are giving a portion of
your life that will never get back.” His statement made me realize that,
indeed, of all the three gifts, time given or spent will never come back while
talents can still be retained or even developed when given and treasure can in
some way or another be repaid or returned.
Verily, Time will never come back.
In whatever way one spends it it will remain in the annals of history
and stay there forever. So, time spent with
someone is a Gift whose value is in the way it is given.
How we spend
time, therefore, is what gives it its worth.
When time is spent for one’s selfish interests, its value is limited to
one’s own good; but when time is spent to serve others in love, its value is
spread to those who are served – and it thus becomes a GIFT FOR OTHERS. Hence, for Time to be a Gift, it has to be spent for
the good of others. In this way, it will
be a portion of one’s life that is given away because of one’s love for others. This is what makes it the GREATEST GIFT that
one can offer to someone he loves.
Bishop
Pueblos further said: “As Christians, we
need to strengthen and deepen our relationship with Christ by spending time
with Him through prayer and to ponder His words.” Therefore, the greatest Gift that we can offer to our Lord Jesus Christ, is
Time spent in Prayer and in pondering His words. This reinforces what spiritual writers say
about the value of having a QUIET TIME with the LORD everyday.
By: Buddy Cagurangan
April 8, 2012
