See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:15-17
1. Everyone, no matter how young or old, no
matter how rich or poor, no matter what part of the world you live in, all have
the same amount of time. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In the months that have
31 days, we all have 31 days. In the months with 30 days, we have 30 days, and
in February, we have however many days are in February.
2. And I know we are often guilty of
saying, “If I just had a little more time.” Or “if there were just a few more
hours in the day.” Or “If only I weren’t so busy, I could get more done.”
3. But the truth this morning is that we
all have the same amount of time each and every day. 24 hours. No more and no
less. The question then, isn’t how can we find more time, but how can we honor
God with the time we have.
4. Ephesians 5.15-17 say, “ 15 Be very
careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of
every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish,
but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
5. I challenge you to read through the four
gospels and look for the phrases, “I’m tired”, “I’m too busy.” “There’s just
not enough time to do it all” ever cross the lips of Jesus. I’ll tell you what,
you’ll not find it. Nowhere in the gospel accounts does Jesus use these phrases
that we find so common in our speech today.
6. Which makes me ask, “what did Jesus know
that we don’t know?” “What did Jesus understand about time?”
7. First, we might say that Jesus
understood time as a gift. He was aware that time was created by God and given
to humanity as a gift. In the very story of creation, we discover that before
anything existed, there was only God, but in a moment of time, God spoke and
everything that has been created came into existence as God spoke it into
being. There was morning and evening, the first day. There was morning and
evening, the second day. And in the act of creation, God, created time as a
gift.
8. Can you imagine if we didn’t have time?
We would just say to everyone, “what time do you want me there.” “Oh, whenever
you show up.” Can you imagine when you were dating, conversations that went
like that? “Honey, what time do you want me to pick you up for our date?” “Oh,
whenever”. Are you kidding me? When Kolaya and I were dating, we would say,
what time and I know at least I would stare at the clock until it was time for
us to be together again. You know, we wouldn’t even be able to talk about time
unless God had created it. We wouldn’t even use time as a reference point
unless it had been created. And so, the first thing we need to understand is
that time is a gift.
9. A second important point about time is
one we tend to forget. Time is limited. We only have so many minutes with our
children to form and shape them before they leave our homes. We only have so
many minutes with our parents before we move out and then before they go away.
We only have so many minutes with brothers and sisters, with cousins, and
nephews and nieces, with grandparents and if you were lucky enough to have
known them great grandparents. We only have a limited amount of time with each
other. And when we understand that, each moment becomes much more precious.
10. How many people have you ever known,
when given a short period of time to live, decide to quit playing it safe and
instead go out and do things they have always wanted to do. Erma Bombeck, after
being diagnosed with cancer wrote these words, “If I had my life to live over,
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner
even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the
’good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to
light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my
grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows
be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have burned the pink candle
sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have sat on the lawn with my
children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching
television - and more while watching life.
I would have shared more of the responsibility
carried by my husband.
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of
pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the
day.
I would never have bought anything just because it
was practical, wouldn’t show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy,
I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside
me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
There would have been more "I love
you’s".. More "I’m sorrys" ...
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would
seize every minute... look at it and really see it ... live it...and never give
it back.”
11. Erma Bombeck realized at the end of her life
that all the things she worried about weren’t important. A Catholic Priest
named Henri Nouwen realized the same thing only he didn’t know he was near the
end of his life. He was given a sabbatical for an entire year and as always he
would journal the events of his life and shortly after he went back to his
place of ministry, had a heart attack and died. His last writing was called A
Sabbatical Journey, that journal edited down but over and over again Henri
Nouwen challenged himself and us through reading it that we should take time
for the moment rather than trying to rush through life.
Recently I was talking
to a gentleman who encountered a man from Africa who had studied a while in the
United States and who returned to Africa. His family and friends told him they
could tell he had been in the States. When he asked them how, they said, “you
walk like them, in a hurry.” You see, they understood that the walk was a part
of the journey, not just a way of getting from here to there.
12. Time is a gift, but time is limited.
13. And when we grasp these first two, we can
understand the exhortation that Paul gives to the church in Ephesus. Since time
is a gift and because it is limited, don’t waste it. Don’t spend it doing the
things that don’t really matter. Do what you can for God, whenever you can. Do
what you can for Christ whenever you can. Do what you can for the Holy Spirit
whenever you can.
14. Don’t let the enemy tempt you into believing
that you have a lot of time or that you can get to honoring God another day.
This day is what you have. Today is the present. This is the moment now, do
what you can with it. Don’t waste it. Don’t lose it. Use your time to honor
God. Let’s be good stewards of your time.
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