Ephesians 5:16 “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Time is the great equalizer. Whether you are the President of the United States or a homeless person standing at an intersection begging, both get the same amount of time. Time, again, is the great equalizer. The question is what will we do with the time we have. Paul writes and teaches us to “REDEEM the time, because the days are evil.”
Redeem the time. What does that mean? I understand it to mean MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY MOMENT. To redeem has the idea of buying something. Time should be seen as one of the most valuable commodities we have. VA Statesman John Randolph said, “Time is the most valuable and the most perishable of all of our possessions.”
To redeem our time is to VALUE time. While one cannot gain and store up time, one can surely lose time. A minute, an hour, a day, a month, a year, a lifetime can be WASTED. The prodigal son not only wasted his inheritance, wasting money, but he also wasted time.
Another way to redeem our time is to do a practice I call schedule time to schedule time. This calls for scheduling a time (I recommend weekly) to SCHEDULE YOUR TIME. It allows you to REVIEW what you have done with your time, say over the past week) and then to decide where you will INVEST your time (looking ahead at least 10 days). While this devotional is not the place to teach a full lesson on time management, I will tell you that a key to redeeming your time is to SCHEDULE A TIME where you can SCHEDULE YOUR TIME. Do you have a time, an appointment to schedule your time?
When it comes to time, each one should not only know Ephesians 5:16, but Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” The NLT says it this way: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” James 4:14b says, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” David made the statement that there was but a step between him and death. Life does come with a deadline, and for the vast majority, it is an unexpected deadline.
On this date with Ephesians 5:16, what do you need to change to be able to get the most out of every moment?
“You only have one life. It soon will pass. Only what is done for Christ will last.” -C. T. Studd
Continue Strong, making each moment count,
And remember to daily DATE the Word