Living with Eternity in View - Part Three
Redeeming the Time
2 Corinthians 5 (KJ2000)
14 For the love of Christ constrains us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
15 And that he died for all, that they who live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again.
Ephesians 5 (KJ2000)
15 See then that you walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5 (Tree of Life Version)
15 So pay close attention to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise.
16 Make the most of your time because the days are evil.
You do not belong to yourself. You belong to God. You are called the redeemed of the Lord because you were purchased with the blood of Jesus. You are now obliged not to live for yourself but for Him. Because you belong to God, your time belongs to God, and one day you will give Him an account of how you spent it.
Time is an interesting resource God has blessed all of us with. The saved and the lost, the billionaire and the pauper, the wise and the foolish, the old and the young – all have access to it. We talk about saving time, even though it cannot be saved in the way we save money. We talk about not having time, even though each day has the same quantity of time in it.
Our purpose in time is to prepare for eternity. It is OK to enjoy our time here on earth. It is OK to access our fair share of the resources of the earth, which God has richly provided for all to enjoy. But we must never lose sight of the fact that this world and all that is in it is temporal. We are here to prepare to live in the next world.
Our existence in time is always going to be very, very brief compared to our existence in eternity. If a person were to live for about 150 years, we would refer to that as a long time. And it is a rather long life, compared to others who live for about 70 or 80 years. But compared to our existence in eternity, it is short. We must make the most of the opportunities that come our way during this short time in serving the Master.
Time is much more valuable than eternity. In the natural, value is determined not just by usefulness, but also by scarcity. Thus, water which we cannot survive without, is sold at a lower price than alcohol which we can do without, which even damages our bodies. Because time is limited and eternity is limitless, time is much more valuable and should be treated as such. An hour spent carelessly is an hour that could never be regained. An hour spent carelessly is an hour you will not be able to account for when you stand before Him!
John 9 (KJ2000)
4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night comes, when no man can work.
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
Ecclesiastes 12 (KJ2000)
1 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw near, when you shall say, I have no pleasure in them;
We must never fall into the habit of making plans which postpone serving God for “later”. God will never judge you by the plans you made to serve Him, He will judge you by the actions you took while trying to serve Him, and the motives behind those actions.
Some people are envied now who will be pitied in eternity, some people are pitied now who will be envied in eternity. Some are spending their lives in silent service to the Master who will be rewarded in eternity. There are those that we celebrate as “great men of God” who will be rebuked in eternity. Of course, there are also those that we celebrate as “great men of God” who will be rewarded by the Master. But the point is, God will not reward offices or giftings, He will reward faithfulness. In the Body of Christ, because we respect offices and giftings (as we rightfully should) we tend to imagine that God will reward them.
Make the most of every opportunity now. The Bible warns consistently that “the days are evil”. This means that you are not sure you will have those opportunities tomorrow. Jesus said that we would have tribulation in the world. Today the situation may be convenient for you to serve the Lord, tomorrow you may be too distracted by one test or trial or the other.
Continue in grace!