TIME
“I come quickly, hold fast that no one may take your crown” (Rev. 3:11).
What does it mean to “redeem the time?” The book of Ephesians contains the admonition: “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16). The word “redeeming” in the Greek can mean “to buy up, ransom, or rescue from loss.” We need to rescue from loss the time that remains in our life. We can only redeem today and plan to redeem tomorrow, for yesterday is gone! We alone are responsible for using what God has given to each of us—time—to prepare for our spiritual vocation.
Consider the following causes of time misuse:
1. The Days Are Evil: Paul admonishes us to redeem the time because the days are evil. “Evil” in the Greek means “hurtful evil in effect, calamitous, diseased, derelict and vicious.” These adjectives describe our modern world, as seen in daily news headlines.
We are living in the last days, a time when building holy, righteous character is becoming ever more difficult. Many paths of wrongdoing and wrong thinking can cause us to lose focus on God’s way of life. Evil can consume us!
2. Failing to Number Our Days: Most do not meditate on the temporary state of human existence or that our days are numbered. Human nature leads us to believe we will continue on, with unlimited physical days. This mindset permeates every new generation.
Psalm 90 provides the following instruction: “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (vs. 10, 12).
Older individuals must spend more time and energy just to maintain a physical existence as compared to younger people. As an aging Church, we must relearn this vital principle and zealously use our numbered days and limited energy...