“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil“–Eph. 5:16
Having just entered the new year I’m sure many pastors have recently preached from this verse– for good reason. The older I get the more meaningful this verse becomes to me. We all have less time left than at any other point in our life. How will we spend it? That is the question.
We all can think of pleasant ways to spend our days, and it would be different for each one. Given the opportunity, what would it be for you? How about sitting on the porch swing, in perfect weather, holding hands with your dearest loved one? Or maybe you are the adventurous type and seeing the wonders of the world is on your bucket list. Or how about sitting in your recliner watching your grandchildren play? And, I suppose, for some fishing might be the way they would want to spend the rest of their life. But what about you? You need to think about that, because the clock is ticking! What will consume your time, exhaust your energy, and capture your attention?
Moses prayed, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”(Ps. 90″12). While life demands various kinds of activity, there should be one single purpose for which we live. I believe Paul got it right when he said, “For to me to live is Christ..”(Phil.1:21). That describes the God-given purpose for every Christian. Although we must of necessity devote some time to work, play, rest, and eating, etc. the one thing, above everything, more than anything that we should focus on is serving God. We should spend our time doing the will of God, from the heart, for the glory of God, with eternity in view.
We talk and sing about “Wasted Years”, but we need to remember that there is more than one way to waste our lives. We usually think of those like the Prodigal son who waste their lives in sinful activities, but some of us are just as guilty by spending our lives on things that are of no eternal value. If we were honest we would have to admit that we spend far less time in Bible study, prayer, witnessing, worship, etc. than we should. We tend to give the least amount of attention to the things that matter most— don’t we?
