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WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2000
TIME REDEMPTION
“…redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”Eph. 5:16
Suppose you have a bank account into which your employer deposits $1,440 every day (that is $10,080/week). The only stipulation is that you must use every single penny every single day. You cannot leave any of the money in the bank. By the next morning when a new deposit arrives, your account must sit at zero. How would you use that money?
You do have such an account: Your LIFE. Every morning of your life, God deposits 1,440 minutes into your account. You cannot horde the time He gives you. You cannot save some for a rainy day. You must use it some way. Even as you read these words, the clock ticks. Time marches into history. It can never be recovered.
Time Investment
What can you do with the time God gives you? There are several possibilities:
- You canwaste time- Doing nothing. Or, doing something that has no value. Both are a waste of time.
- You canspend time- It is possible to busy yourself with things that have no lasting or redeeming value. Your life may be a flurry of activity and yet at the day’s end, there is the feeling that nothing you did today will matter tomorrow.
- You caninvesttime This is what Paul means by “redeeming the time.” Strong’s Greek Dictionary gives the meaning of redeem here as “Buy up; ransom; rescue from loss.” Time invested is time spent on a worthwhile cause. It may be reading your child a bedtime story or talking with the family around the dinner table or working on a project or making a visit to a nursing home or…
Time investment benefits yourself and others.
On this subject, it would be helpful to read the Gospels and observe how Jesus used His time here. He had less than four years of public ministry. Time was of the essence. What did He do with his time? He worked. He rested. He taught. He listened. He prayed. He evangelized. He helped. He healed. He gave. And He gave. And He gave. He invested Himself in the lives of others.
Jesus’ example teaches us that the best thing we can do with our time is invest it in things that have eternal value. Only one thing in this present world will last forever. People. Redeeming time means investing in people. You can start at home. But you don’t have to stop there.
A Prayer for Today:“Father, thank you for this gift that is called today. I commit to You that I will not be satisfied to waste or spend this time You are giving me. I will redeem it. I will invest it. Helpme to do so. Amen.”
