Ain’t Got Time
John 1:29-34
Illustration
by James W. Moore

One of the great celebrative anthems that comes to us out of African-American culture is the powerful spiritual "Ain't Got Time To Die." It was written by Hall Johnson and it has these joyfully dramatic words:

Been so busy praising my Jesus,
Been so busy working for the Kingdom,
Been so busy serving my Master…
Ain't got time to die.

If I don't praise him,
If I don't serve him,
The rocks gonna cry out
Glory and honor, glory and honor…
Ain't got time to die."

In this inspiring and wonderful spiritual, the composer is underscoring and celebrating the joy and excitement of being a Christian, the joy and excitement of serving our Lord in gratitude for what he has done for us. The point that this spiritual is trying to drive home to us with great enthusiasm is… that when we really become Christians, when we really commit our lives to Christ… then, we can't sit still… we become so excited, so thrilled, so grateful for our new life in Christ that we can't help but love Him, praise Him, serve Him, and share Him with others.

This is precisely what happened to Andrew. He found the Messiah, he encountered Jesus – and he was so excited he couldn't sit still.

ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., ChristianGlobe Illustrations, by James W. Moore