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"REDEEMING
THE TIME"
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Scripture: Ephesians 5:16 "Redeeming the time, because the days are
evil."
To redeem means to regain possession of something, to receive something by
exchange, or to make up for lost time. The Apostle Paul encourages us to live each day
in such a fashion so that each moment we spend, we exchange it for something
that is of value. In the previous verse, he
said, "Live purposefully, worthily, and accurately, not as unwise and
witless, but as wise, sensible, and intelligent people ... making the most of
time" (Ephesians 5:15 Amplified Bible).
Each deed that we do should be done as unto the Lord and every word that we
speak should minister grace to the hearer, encouraging their hearts and
renewing their spirits. Our lives should be salt
and light in this world of darkness. Time and opportunity is priceless and once they are
spent, they are gone forever. Redemption
of these precious commodities must occur as the moment happens. Yet, sadly, we often find
that we have missed our opportunity and the precious moment has passed
into eternity. We find ourselves saying,
"I wish I had said this, or I wish I had done that." We begin to realize that
we have spent our time on things that had no lasting purpose or
eternal value.
We live in a world that is full of hurting people and we encounter them daily. Yet rather than trying to
mend their pain, we come up with insignificant answers. Some of the lyrics
of a song written by Bill and Gloria Gaither are, "When the
house is burning to the ground, there's just no time to stand around arranging
all the pictures on the wall." The rest of the song mentions spending time writing songs and
preaching sermons to answer questions that no one is even asking. In other words, we
must stopped wasting our moments. To redeem the situations when we encounter them,
necessary actions need to be taken and significant words need to be spoken.
God's desire is that we rearrange our priorities, for the time is short and the
days are evil. Our main interest should be
the needs of others and the condition of their hearts with respect to
eternity. We have been given the
opportunity to lead others to a hill called Calvary and to show them how to
touch the nail-scarred hands of Jesus. We must make the most of time, and buy up each opportunity by sharing
the Living Water with the thirsty and the Bread of Life with the hungry. As we do, we will be
redeeming the time for eternity by revealing our Redeemer, Jesus
Christ. +++
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