Redeeming the TIme

Ephesians 5:16 "redeeming the time, because the days are evil."

In the letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul is reminding the church that they are no longer children of darkness, but are new creations in Christ, children of the light. They are to walk in the light, which is Christ, and not according to the former conducts. The light reveals all secrets and hidden sins in the lives of the believers and they were exhorted to conduct themselves in all truthfulness and sincerity of heart. Paul encourages the church to "wake up and arise"and live in the newness of life that has been granted to them by Christ.
In this section of the chapter Paul explains what it looks like to live a life in the light of Christ. He gives a number of characteristics of the "enlightened" believer. In verse 15, Paul tells us to "walk circumspectly," to live every day aware of what is going on around us, so that we can make wise decisions at any time. Here in verse 16, he points out that we are to "redeem the time"that we have left, "for the days are evil," we only have a short time here on earth to fulfill the calling that we have been given by God. To redeem the time means to make the most out of every moment that we are on this earth. We are not to be given into the pursuit of earthly and selfish pleasures, as fools are, but rather spend our energy on kingdom business. We are born, converted and then, in the blink of an eye, will be in heaven with God for eternity. The time between salvation and death is short and there is a lot of work to be done for God. We do not have the luxury to waste time here on earth, for "the harvest is great and the workers are few." We are no longer our own, but Christ has redeemed us from the bondage of slavery to self and the world. In light of this, we are to be about our master's business and, like a bondservant, are to devote our very being to the pursuit of His purposes.
When I think of a life of total devotion to the Lord, the life of Daniel comes to mind. As a child, he was taken from his home in Jerusalem and kidnapped to Babylon, where he grew up in a strange land among strange customs and people. He did not chose to be there, yet his whole life is a testimony of submission and dedication to God's will. His life was an utter success, both from the heavenly and earthly perspective and he never wavered in his faith, even when confronted with imminent death in the lion's den. God used him until the very end of his life and he is one of the few characters in the Bible whose sins were never shown to us. Like Daniel, we, as believers, live in a world that is not our own, among a people and in a land that are strange and hostile to us. Like Daniel, we are called to submit to God's will and to devote ourselves completely to His service, so that we, too, can be tools in the hand of a mighty God. Daniel, in his faithfulness, changed not only the heart of kings, but changed the course of history and forever impacted the world to come. The same way, we are called to "redeem the time" we have on this earth and turn the whole world right side up. How sad is the Christian existence that is only concerned with the worries of a comfortable life and given over to selfish pleasures. How much more exiting is the life of one who goes out and in selfless service changes the lives and destinies of countless other souls.

Application
I long for the designation of "man of God" given to many of the men in the Bible. I pray that God grant me this kind of life, given wholly to the pursuit of godliness. Therefore today during my quiet time I will read the story of Daniel again and pray that God would show me areas of my life that I have to surrender to Him.