The Duke of Bridgewater was in his day the wealthiest man in England and he used his wealth to build the ‘Bridgewater canal’ which was the first canal in Britain. This new waterway was used to transport coal from his estates in to the cities of Manchester and Liverpool.

Whenever the canal was being built the Duke came to view the progress of the work and to his dismay he found a gang of workmen still resting well after one o’clock; (the men were normally given twelve noon to one o’clock for their lunch). Whenever he
asked them to explain their conduct their excuse was; ‘they hadn’t heard the clock strike one!’ They claimed to have missed the single chime of the clock in the nearby tower in Worsley, England!

The Duke who was an industrious man and could not tolerate idleness was not impressed by what had taken place. So in order to prevent the same thing happening again he gave the order that the Church clock be changed to strike thirteen instead of one. In other words the men were left without excuse – no-one could ever say again that they hadn’t heard the clock chime at one o’clock when the lunch hour ended.

The same is true if you are unsaved – God’s clock has struck thirteen for you. As another year begins it has to be said that you are left without excuse because you have had all the time you need to get saved but still you are not ready for eternity. Why does God give you time on this earth? That is a good question and I encourage you to consider it carefully. It is not so that you can become rich or famous nor is it so that you can live for sin and pleasure: if you think that you are mistaken. The precious gift of time is given for a more noble purpose. Time is given so that you can prepare for Eternity – have you done that? Maybe you have lived for forty, fifty or even sixty years of time but you have wasted all of those years because you are still not saved! Perhaps the way that you have lived your life can be summed up in the words of the hymn:

Many summers you have wasted; ripened harvests you have seen; Winter snows by spring have melted, Yet you linger in your sin.

What time is it? We often make that enquiry. As another year of your life begins the answer is plain and clear, “It is time to seek the Lord” (Hosea 10:12). It is time for you get saved and to make sure that it is well with your soul.

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