Saturday, October 16th – Redeeming The Time

Time is so important the Bible commands us to “redeem the time.” Twice we are told to redeem the time: “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). Paul also reiterates this in Colossians 4:5 “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.”

Time is something that is given to us by God. We work hard to expand and extend our time, but ultimately the number of our days is determined by God. Therefore, each day and every day is a gift from God.

With the gift of time comes responsibility. Each day has been given to us by God as a grant or trust. Time is something we are entrusted with. As the receivers of time, we are stewards of God’s gift. Time is a precious matter as well as a passing matter. The moment a man is born, he begins to die. Death could come at any moment by disease, disaster, or decay. Man is not here to stay, but he is here to die. This world is not our home; we are just a passing through. We should stand in awe of the time we are journeying through.

Paul said we are to make the most of time “because the days are evil.” Evil days are days of op- portunity. The more evil our culture becomes, the more opportunities there will be to show and share our faith.

Believers are to take advantage of every spiritual opportunity because we know that the night is coming when no one can work. There is an open window in time for the gospel. We must seize the moment.

History is “His story” of providing salvation for a lost world and pointing people to the Lord. God may hold back His judgment for a time, allowing evil tyrants to have their day, upsetting people’s well-ordered lives, presenting them with dilemmas beyond their understanding. Evil brings pain, but it is the genius of God to bring good out of evil (Romans 8:28).

Spend your time in nothing which you know must be repented of; in nothing on which you might not pray for the blessing of God upon; in nothing which you would regret on your dying bed. Eternity will be appreciated only in the measure that we have rightly handled time. Evil times, therefore, are not to be feared. They are times of unparalleled opportunity. That’s why we must make the most of them.