If you’re a fan of Jack Bauer, you know that familiar yet ominous ticking clock of the TV show “24.” Each episode is one hour of real time making up each of the 24 hours in one day. Every season, Jack frantically works against the clock to save the world from evil. He doesn’t waste a single second. The situation is too important, too dire, too desperate to take a breather. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul encourages his friends to live life with a Jack Bauer-like focus and intensity, “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (v16). Let’s be clear, he’s NOT telling his readers to grab their Glock and take out anything or anyone standing in their way. You do understand that, right? Good. But he is pointing to the clock. That nonstop ticking clock. He wants us to understand that there’s a limited amount of time remaining. Don’t waste a single second. Use it with urgency.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
From a Roman prison cell, Paul writes to his friends in Ephesus to tell them what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus. We need to realize the amazing things that God has already done for us (Eph 1:3-14). From walking dead to alive in Jesus (Eph 2:1-6). He graciously did for us what we could never do for ourselves (Eph 2:8-9). We’re now on the move in a brand new way. Walking in the good works God has prepared for us (Eph 2:10). Walking in a way that honors His calling on our lives (Eph 4:1). No longer walking like outsiders (Eph 4:17). Walking in love (Eph 5:2). Walking the light of our loving heavenly Dad (Eph 5:8). Walking wisely (Eph 5:15). We walk with purpose. We walk with focus. We walk because the clock is ticking.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
The apostle tells us that we’re to walk wisely, “making the best use of our time” (v16). This is the Greek verb exagorazo. It means to redeem, buy back or pay to recover from the power of another. It’s a compound word that literally means “out of” (ex-) “the market” (-agorazo). Jesus bought us from our slavery to sin at the cross and “redeemed (Gr. exagorazo) us from the curse of the law” (Ga 3:13). Picture yourself standing as a piece of property in the slave market. Jesus steps up to pay full price for you in order to free you from the slavery of self-salvation. He takes you out of the market.
Two other times, Paul uses this same term to encourage us to not waste a single second. Over in Colossians, a letter that he wrote and mailed at the same time as this note to Ephesus, he describes that dealing wisely with unbelievers is a key way to use the time we have. “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use (Gr. exagorazo) of the time” (Col 4:5). Think of buying time. Empty your pockets. Open your wallet. Drain your bank account. Purchase as much time remaining as you can. People need to know about Jesus. Redeem your limited seconds, days and hours remaining and leverage it for eternity. The clock is ticking.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
We’re to invest our “time” (Gr. kairos). This is a fixed, measured, allocated amount of time. In the Greco-Roman world, people also considered kairos to be the supreme moment. The opportunity you’ve been waiting for. It’s a limited window. Think of an hour glass with grains of sand slowly but steadily trickling down. Once Jesus gets ahold of me, I only have a limited amount of time left walking around on the third rock from the sun. I’m not sure how much I have. Could be another 50 years. Could be another 50 seconds. One thing the writers of the Bible want us to understand is that in comparison with eternity, this part of our life goes quicker than a New York minute. The psalmist reminsd himself, “Remember how short my time is!” (Ps 89:47). Jesus’ little brother Jimmy warns that we don’t have a clue what will happen tomorrow. “What is your life? For you are mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 1:14). If my life is just like puff of smoke, what am I going to do with the time I have left on the clock?
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Paul then gives us a curious little reason why we need to make our time purchase. “Because the days are evil” (v16). He says that the days we inhabit are painful, good-for-nothing and in a bad way. But it’s even worse than that. The days are wicked. The days are corrupt. The days are malicious. They’re out to do hurt you. They’re out to get you. Jesus told the crowd about the days of evil and the importance of living in the moment. “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Mt 6:34). We desperately need to buy back the time remaining so we can leverage it for God’s kingdom.
Recently, my pastor Mike Lee mentioned something a good friend often says. We can either make good time or make time good. In other words, we can fly through life with little focus on the now, completely consumed with ultimate destination. Any dad who’s been behind the wheel of the family car on vacation knows all about making good time. Gotta get there. Gotta make time. That means drive-thru burgers and gas station restrooms. Gotta make time. While the clock is certainly ticking, we need to take the time to make the time good. Don’t get so obsessed with the destination that you miss the joy of the journey. The gift of now. The gift of the present. We have a choice with the time we have. We can make good time. Or we can make time good. One thing for sure. The clock is ticking.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
This is the part where you get involved. What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Drop a comment below. I would love to hear from you. No, really.
This is the part where you get involved. What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Drop a comment below. I would love to hear from you. No, really.
No comments:
Post a Comment