Revelation 22:13 NLT I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

[07/04/2026; iPhone 14 ProMax]

Geneva, this place has a watchmaking culture unlike anywhere else in the world. Patek Philippe, Rolex, and of course my personal favorite, Omega. There are many other big names; there’s Audemars Piguet, Hublot, IWC, and countless others. Everywhere you look, there are reminders of a culture that has spent generations perfecting the art of measuring time.  Walking through Geneva and seeing that craftsmanship up close made me think about something much bigger than watches. 

We spend our entire lives measuring time. 

Seconds become minutes. Minutes become hours. Hours become days. Days become years, and somehow, those years can pass faster than we ever expected. 

Revelation 22:13 NLT records the words of Jesus: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” 

In a city that knows how to measure time, I found myself thinking about the One who stands over all of it. 

Arriving in Geneva, one of the first things my buddy Cole and I did was find some breakfast. We found a really good café near the airport, and funny enough, the next thing we did after landing in Geneva was leave Geneva entirely.

Our Airbnb was just across the border in France, so we made our way over, checked in, and immediately he went to his room, and I went to mine for what was supposed to be a quick nap. It turned into a full blown sleep. By the time we woke up, the sun was already starting to go down. For a weekend trip, it was pretty funny that we managed to spend so much of our first day sleeping. But the Airbnb was really nice, and apparently we needed the rest. Once we finally woke up, we went out for dinner and ended up staying up late trying to make up for some of the time we’d lost sleeping. That probably wasn’t our smartest decision. The next morning, we had to be up early for something I had really been looking forward to: the Patek Philippe Museum. 

I’m a watch guy, so despite waking up late and having to skip breakfast, I was determined to make that tour. And it was worth it. Seeing some of those pieces in person was one of the coolest experiences of the trip. Cole and I were genuinely shocked by some of what we saw. Patek Philippe exists at such an upper level of watchmaking that there are people who may go their entire lives without ever seeing one in person. It’s funny when you stop and think about it because, at the end of the day, they’re watches. But there is something incredible about them. The engineering, precious metals, hand-finishing, craftsmanship, history, and sheer ingenuity involved in creating a watch at that level are difficult not to appreciate. And that same theme kept following me throughout the trip: 

Time. 

Watchmaking isn’t simply a business in Geneva. It’s part of the culture. 

Walking through the city, it’s almost impossible not to notice the names associated with Swiss watchmaking. The boutiques, displays, museums, and history tell a story stretching back generations. Some watches require an incredible amount of skill and precision to create. Tiny components work together, most of them completely unseen beneath the surface to accomplish one basic purpose: To measure the passing of time and there is something fascinating about that. 

A mechanical watch can contain hundreds of individual components, each performing its role. Some of the world’s finest watches can take an extraordinary amount of time to produce. They’re objects built around patience, precision, and attention to details that most people will never even see. 

And yet, the one thing they measure cannot be manufactured. 

Time itself. 

No matter how expensive or complicated the watch, it cannot slow down the second hand. 

It cannot bring yesterday back. 

It cannot guarantee tomorrow. 

That contrast stayed with me as we continued exploring Geneva. 

Now, when I say I’m a “watch guy,” I should probably clarify something. 

There are levels to this stuff. 

I love watches. I think they look cool, I appreciate the engineering behind them, and I enjoy learning about them. But when it comes to the full spectrum of the hobby, I’d still call myself a novice. 

At the Patek Museum, I heard people casually talking about reference numbers, which second hands appeared on specific models during specific production periods, when Patek stopped using Lemania movements, and then conversations about what those Lemania movements actually were (The answer is 2009, by the way.) That’s when Patek Philippe introduced the CH 29-535 PS, its first traditional chronograph movement developed and manufactured entirely in-house, beginning the transition away from the Nouvelle Lémania-based CH 27-70. 

And if you’re reading that last sentence thinking, I have absolutely no idea what any of that means… 

Exactly. 

There are levels to this stuff. 

It gets deep. 

Cole, meanwhile, wasn’t really a watch guy at all. In the past, whenever I’d start talking about watches, I could almost see the “Oh boy, here he goes again” look on his face. But something changed after Patek. I saw him starting to open up to it. Later, when we went into a Swatch store and it was awesome just browsing together, being tourists, and enjoying ourselves. Then he bought his first watch. I can’t lie, it was a proud friend moment. Seeing my buddy get his first timepiece from an authorized dealer after all the times he had listened to me ramble about watches was pretty cool. 

And maybe that’s part of what makes travel so memorable. Sometimes the moments you remember aren’t the landmarks you planned months in advance. They’re the random little things that happen along the way. Beyond watches, we spent time simply experiencing Geneva walking through the city, taking pictures, enjoying the architecture, and taking in the scenery around Lake Geneva. 

 Let me tell you something else about Geneva: 

Geneva is expensive. 

On the day we landed, our taxi driver recommended a restaurant, so naturally we decided to check it out. The food was actually really really good. 

Then the bill came. 

A little over $200. 

We just looked at each other. 

Welcome to Switzerland. 

Still, like many of my favorite moments while traveling, some of the best parts weren’t necessarily complicated. Sometimes it was simply walking around, going to an Omega Boutique, laughing with a friend, and realizing how far from home God had allowed us to travel. 

Travel has a way of making you aware of time. 

You can spend months anticipating and planning a trip, or in this case, barely plan at all. Either way, one moment you’re at Point A, and suddenly you’re there at Point B. and before you know it again, you’re packing your things again and heading home. 

It makes you realize how quickly moments become memories, even if the memory is 200 plus for some steaks.

Jesus says He is the Alpha and the Omega. We experience life one moment at a time. We don’t know everything tomorrow will bring. We make plans, set alarms, schedule flights, check our watches, and organize our lives around calendars. But God sees something we cannot. 

He IS the beginning and THE end. 

That doesn’t mean every moment of our lives will make sense to us. There are seasons of joy and seasons of disappointment. There are prayers that seem to be answered immediately and others where we wait far longer than we expected. But God is not confined by our schedules. That brings me to another passage: 

Psalm 90:12 NLT Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. 

Think about how often we talk about time. 

We spend time. 

We save time. 

We waste time. 

We lose time. 

We make time. 

But the truth is, we can’t actually store any of it. 

Once a moment passes, it becomes part of our story. 

And that raises a much more important question than simply, What time is it? 

What am I doing with the time God has given me? 

That question also makes me think about a song from SEU Worship “What a God”:

If the highest place I reach is at Your feet, then I’ve done it all If thе best thing that I’ve seen is Your glory, then I’vе seen it all Your love has changed my life, forever satisfied God, You are my everything If the highest place I reached is at Your feet, then I’ve done it all If the best thing that I’ve seen is Your glory, then I’ve seen it all Your love has changed my life, forever satisfied God, You are my everything.

Those lyrics are powerful. Just think about that imagery for a second. We spend so much of our lives trying to reach higher. accomplish more, see more, and reach more, yet the song paints a completely different picture of what it means to truly reach the highest place.

If the highest place I reach is at Your feet, then I’ve done it all If thе best thing that I’ve seen is Your glory, then I’vе seen it all

That’s the perspective I want. 

Because what good is using every second efficiently if I’m spending those seconds chasing things that don’t matter eternally?

There is nothing wrong with appreciating beautiful things. I can admire the craftsmanship behind a luxury watch, the engineering required to build it, and the generations of knowledge behind Swiss watchmaking. Human beings were created with an incredible capacity to design, build, create, and solve problems. 

But even the greatest watchmaker in the world cannot create another second. 

Psalm 90 reminds me that recognizing the brevity of life isn’t supposed to make us afraid of living. 

It should teach us to live wisely. 

There will always be another task to complete. Another goal to chase. Another destination to visit. Another possession we want. Another notification demanding our attention. 

But our lives are happening right now. 

The people God has placed around us matter right now. 

The opportunities we have to love people, forgive people, encourage people, serve people, share the Gospel, and build the Kingdom matter right now. 

And sometimes I need to remember that. 

I’ve realized that during difficult seasons of life, it can be so easy to wish time away. 

I just want this week to be over. 

I just want to get through this season. 

I just want to be on the other side of this. 

I’ve thought that way before. 

But there’s something sobering about realizing what we’re actually asking for when we constantly wish for time to pass faster. 

We’re asking for less time. 

I don’t want to spend my life wishing away days that God gave me simply because those days are difficult. I don’t want to reach the end and realize I was always waiting for the next season instead of asking God how He could use me in the one I was already in. 

I want to use whatever time I’m given to advance His Kingdom. 

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of time. Clocks, watches, hourglasses, etc.

I’ve also always thought about my own place in time. 

Where am I in life? 

How much time has already passed? 

And what am I doing with the time God has given me? 

Here’s a thought experiment that really put that into perspective for me. 

If an average male life expectancy of 76.5 years were compressed into a single 24-hour day, then when I traveled to Geneva on July 4, 2026, at my current age, the clock on my life would have read approximately: 

10:17 a.m.  

Of course, none of us knows how much time God will give us. A life-expectancy statistic certainly can’t tell us that. Some lives are longer. Some are shorter. Tomorrow is never promised. 

But that’s exactly the point. 

Thinking about my life as a 24-hour clock changed my perspective. 

The hands are moving forward. 

They always have been. 

And none of us can turn them backward. 

Go home and figure out what time it would be on the 24-hour clock of your own life. Not because a statistic can tell you how much life you have left, but because seeing your life represented that way might change how you think about the time you have right now. 

Maybe it’ll motivate you to get out there and live more life.

Take the trip. 

Spend time with the people you love. 

Call someone you haven’t talked to in a while. 

Stop endlessly putting things off for “someday.” 

Use the gifts God gave you. 

Be present for the season you’re in, even if it’s a difficult one. 

And most importantly, use your time for something eternal. 

Live for the Kingdom of God. 

Declare Jesus as Lord.

I don’t know how many trips I’ll get to take in my lifetime. I don’t know how many countries I’ll see, how many photographs I’ll take, or how many watches I’ll get to admire along the way. 

None of us knows exactly how much earthly time we have. 

But I know Who holds it. 

And we have Eternity with Him.

John 3:16 NLT For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. 

The First and the Last. 

The Beginning and the End. 

The goal isn’t simply to have more time. It’s to become more faithful with the time we’ve already been given. 

Jesus is KING. 

As you reflect this week, ask yourself: 

What has been receiving most of your time and attention lately? 

Is there something you’ve been putting off? Time with God, time with family, forgiveness, serving someone, or simply being present because you assume there will always be more time? 

How would your priorities change if you viewed today as a gift from God? 

Please share in the comments! 

💎