Time (pt 2)

Awake, you who sleep

Since my last post basically explains the basic premise of everything, I'll just give a very quick recap here and then jump into part two of this series on using time for the advancement of the purposes of God. I'm exploring a passage in Ephesians that describes our use of time and the goal is of this is to put in perspective the importance of our time, namely that the way we spend our time has eternal ramifications and that we need to live with purpose in mind. And that purpose needs to be aligned with God's: to have His glory proclaimed throughout the earth. I'm am going through Ephesians 5:15-17: "Therefore He says, 'Awake, you who are asleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.' See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is." This passage is full of wisdom on the use of time. The last post was mostly based around verse 14, and the main concepts were to avoid laziness and busyness and instead focus on what God has called us to do. To set ourselves on His purposes, His light, and to keep ourselves in line with His purpose is what will give our lives meaning in light of eternity. By focusing on the light that Christ gives us, we are able to align ourselves with Him and keep ourselves on the narrow path that leads to the fullness of the life that God has planned for us. For a more in depth look at verse 14, you can check out the last post. Now on to today's thoughts on verses 15 and 16.

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil.

Not As Fools But As Wise

For my personal studies and my bible reading in general, I prefer the New King James Version, which is where all the scripture in my blog is quoted from, but for the sake of comparison and clarity, I think that it would help to quote Ephesians 5:15-16 from the New Living Translation: "So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days." This is very similar to many other translations that I've looked at (biblegateway.com is a fantastic resource), including NIV and the ESV, and they essentially say the same thing as the NLT. The first half of the verse I like in this regard, simply because I had to look up the word "circumspectly" in the dictionary before I could understand this passage fully. Apparently circumspectly means carefully, and so we could reword the statement as "see then that you walk carefully" and would basically be the same thing. We want to focus on what is good, what is wise, taking our eyes off of what is evil, or unwise. We must take diligence in the way in which we live. Seeing as how this point was hammered hard in the last post, I will stop here on that point and move to the part of the verse that stuck out to me.

In many other versions, verse 16 reads "make the most of every opportunity in these evil days" or some variation on it. As stated above, the NKJV reads: redeeming the time, because the days are evil." I agree wholeheartedly that we must make the best use of our time, there is nothing wrong with this statement at all. There is, however, another tone that is portrayed with the phrase "redeeming the time." For me this bring up a different image than simply making the most of our opportunities. It reminds me of the fact that my life has been redeemed by Christ's death on the cross. He bought my time back for me, it has been redeemed in these evil days and I owe Him everything for that fact. The other main image I have in my mind while reading "redeeming the time" is the fact that we will be held responsible for our actions and how we use our time. Romans 14:12 states "So then each of us will give an account of himself to God." This is not referring specifically to non-believers, although they certainly fall into the category of "each of us." This is referring to every person who has ever lived or ever will live. We will all be required to give an account before the throne of the Lord at the time of judgment, and although as believers our salvation may not be in question, we will still have to give an account of how we used the time He gave us. 2nd Cor 5:10 says "For we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." We will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and we will have to give an account and receive according to what we have done. We will by no means loose our salvation, for it is by faith that we are saved, not works, but that does not mean that God no longer cares about what we do, He has bought us for such a steep price not so we could just coast along in our sin but so that we could actually live out the live He has provided for us.

What I say to you I say to all: Watch!

Now, the last part of the verse states that "the days are evil." I want to address this by quoting from Solomon in Ecclesiastes. "(9:11-12) I returned and saw under the sun that - The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men are snared in an evil time, When it falls suddenly upon them." This is a direct statement that declares the importance being aware of what is going on, with the understanding and perspective that things will happen, evil will come to you, and if you are not prepared it will fall suddenly upon you and you will be snared. It matches up with Matt 10:24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master." We have been given the Holy Spirit not to be spared from any calamity, but to be prepared to fulfill the Lord's purposes through them. I mentioned a verse from Mark 13 in the last post, and it is relevant again. Verse 37 states "and what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!" We must watch the time we're in, we can't simply allow these things to happen and expect that it will all work out for the best. We must be diligent and constantly set ourselves on the watch so that we will not be ensnared by these times and instead will be moved into the higher purposes of His calling for us.

We must watch, we must be diligent, and we must focus on the fact that our time is not our own and we will be held accountable for how we use it. The next post will about seeking the will of the Lord. This is the key for us as we seek out how to live this life on purpose, and with the rest of this passage now explained, the act of seeking after the will of the Lord becomes something that is attainable and important. We will get more into this next time. God Bless