Redeeming the Time (Part 1)
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15–16, NKJV)
How to Redeem God’s Gifts
In Friday’s post, I made the argument that we should not separate ourselves from God’s gifts, but should redeem them to be used for God’s glory. In some upcoming posts, I hope to make this principle more concrete by looking at some practical ways we can redeem God’s good gifts and use them for His glory.
Using Gifts the Right Way
The core way in which we redeem God’s gifts is by using them rightly—using them in the way and for the purposes he created them. Naturally, because of our sinful nature, we do not use God’s gifts rightly. We naturally use God’s gifts for our own purposes and benefit—not for the love of our neighbors and God’s glory.
If we desire to redeem God’s good gifts, we must begin by understanding how He would like us to use these gifts. Then, we must start using these gifts in that way. That’s what “redeeming” a gift looks like—pulling it out of the miry pit and using it glorify God.
Redeeming the Time
One gift God pours out on all people is time. Jesus said, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good…” (Matthew 5:45, ESV). Another way to say that would be, “He gives the evil and the good time—days and nights.” He gives this gift generously to everyone on the earth.
Yet, to connect with Friday’s post, sin has taken hold of this good gift and has used it for death and destruction. Often, time is not used to pursue loving God or loving neighbor. Time has become a commodity that is easily focused on pursuing our own agendas and our own desires. So, Paul says, “[redeem] the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16). Another way of saying that is, “The world around you is evil—not longer using God’s good gift of time properly, spending it completely on themselves and their own agendas. Don’t follow their example. Use your time in a way that pursues loving God and loving your neighbor—in a way that brings glory to God. Redeem the time.”
Begins With Bible Reading
The rest of the passage gives some practical examples of how we should “redeem” the time. In this post, we’ll look at the first one where Paul says, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:17, ESV).
This is at the root of redeeming time—actually, it’s at the root of redeeming everything. When Paul says that we should understand the “will of the Lord,” he is not saying we need to understand the secret counsels of God—knowing the things he planned before creation. He is saying that we need to understand the things God desires—the way God wants things to work. We come to know what God desires by reading and studying His Word.
So, the first step to redeeming the time—to redeeming anything—is to read your Bible every day. We need to start each day in God’s Word, taking time to understand the way He created the world and the way he wants us to live in it. When we start the day with God’s Word, it works like a pair of glasses, bringing the fuzziness of the world into focus—helping us to see things more clearly. As we see things more clearly, and understand their created purposes more fully, we will begin to use these things in a way that brings more glory to God. But it all begins with reading our Bibles.