Redeeming the TIme

Last night we set our clocks up one hour to begin the semi-annual debate about Daylight Savings Time. Some like it. Others loathe it.

One sage quipped, “Daylight saving time: Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.”

However, regardless of the time zone we’re living in, we should be conscious of the stewardship of time. The Bible exhorts us to “redeem the time” (Eph. 5:16). The means, as the ESV renders it, “making the best use of the time.”

Time and opportunity go together. When we make the best use of our time, we’re alert to opportunities to do good. To say a kind word. To extend a helping hand. To listen to a troubled friend. To play with a child. To engage in meaningful conversation with our spouse. To share our faith. To enjoy a sunset. To pray. To seek communion with God.

On this Lord’s Day, we’re given the opportunity to wisely use our time in collective worship. To enjoy fellowship with other Believers. To join hearts in praising God. Mutually edifying one another. And serving as a witness to the world that our Faith is vital and vibrant.

“I don’t have time,” is a stale and worn-out excuse that we too often repeat. All we have is time. And time is the one thing that every person has in common. Regardless of social status, economic standing, or chronological age, we all possess the same 24 hours in a day.

The front of my Franklin Planner reminds me of Benjamin Franklin’s advice. “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is mad of.”

We ought to approach each day with the Psalmist’s attitude, “This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps 118:24). Don’t waste time grumbling and griping. Be thankful for your blessings. Recognize their source. And seize the day with its many opportunities to be a light for the Lord.

While may move the clocks forward or backward, actually time doesn’t stand still. It waits for no one. The time to do what you know you need to do is…NOW.

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman