Bella Vista Church of Christ
LIFELINES
April 17, 2002 Randall Caselman
Redeeming The Time
Be careful then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity. (Ephesians 5.15-16, NIV)
Teach us to number our days. (Psalm 90.12) These verses tell us that life does not last forever. You see, if we number our days, we must then face the reality that we will run out of days. Time is finite, so be very careful with it. We must be careful how we live. We must make the most of our time.
All of history (His-Story) marches toward the coming of Jesus Christ. His first coming brought grace and truth, but grace must never be used as an excuse to waste time, to shun good works, to put off obedience, or to disregard opportunities. Paul says be careful how you spend your time, making the most of it. He is not saying fill each moment with frantic activity, but rather keep your eyes open for every opportunity to obey the Lord, and to do good to others. At His second coming, our reward will be based on how we dealt with these presented opportunities. How we used our time.
The Greeks had two words for time:
chronos and
kairos.
Chronos is the time we measure with watches and calendars. This word is where we get our English word chronology. Then there is
kairos.
Kairos is the right time, the perfect moment, the moment pregnant with possibilities to obey and serve. Paul says,
"Make the most of kairos." Make the most of every opportunity. Seize every opportune moment. Do not let any
kairos slip away.
The abuse of
kairos--putting it off, not making the most of our opportunities, procrastination--has no place in the life of a Christian. Procrastination blinds us to the
kairos moments of life. Why do we put off what we know is right? Perhaps it is because we hear Satan whisper...
"You Have Plenty Of Time." I wonder how many times I have regretted listening to this whisper. We may not have plenty of time to visit with mom, dad, the children, to say I love you. To encourage. To be a better spouse. To visit the sick. To encourage a shut-in. To mention Jesus to a friend. To become involved in some mission effort. To do some good deed. To contribute to some good work. To obey God. We must number our days. They will run out.
"You Need A Rest." Laziness! Ah Yes, Satan whispers this in our ears so often, and we fall for it every time whether we've been working hard or not. Selfishness, egotism gives us this opportunity-passing rationalization. Satan has other whispers in this area: Let somebody else do it. This is not my job. The church hires people to do that. He even whispers to preachers: They don't pay me enough to do that. But the bottom line is that we are lazy! For all people, parents, preachers, politicians, laziness is a sin. Scripture tells us that we should do all our work as if we were doing it for the Lord. Because we are.
"It Is Not That Important." Footwashing is not important enough for my attention. Satan says,
Don't involve yourself in menial tasks! You are too talented for such things. Your energy must be reserved for the big opportunities. You are executive material--not meant for servanthood! Jesus on the other hand says,
"He that would be great in the Kingdom, let him serve." Jesus calls us to live in an upside-down Kingdom.
"You're Having Too Much Fun To Stop." How many things do we put off, leave undone, simply because we don't want to stop doing what we are doing? One day we intend to change our life. We intend to be a better parent, stop drinking, stop our pursuit of materialism, start visiting the sick, be more evangelistic, transform our life into the image of Jesus--but not yet! Augustine said, "God give me chastity and continence, but not yet." Change me Lord -- Tomorrow! Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
"You Might Fail." Our focus is on success. This false value system keeps many from being the persons God wants us to be. We will not accept Jesus as our Savior, we will not begin our Christian walk, because we might fail. Indeed we will. The Prodigal failed as a son. Abraham and Sarah failed in faith. David failed as a father. Peter failed as a friend. John Mark failed as a missionary. I fail. You will fail. Don't be afraid of failure. We are all failures saved by grace.
Procrastination can be ruination, the cause for the loss of our soul! Procrastination smothers good intentions. Procrastination inhibits good works. Procrastination ruptures relationships. Procrastination is a sin. We must know that whether we number our days or not, our days are numbered.
Redeem the time... Number your days... Work while it is yet day... Now is the acceptable time... Today is the day of salvation. Not tomorrow--Not tomorrow. Now!
Randall Caselman
Bella Vista, Arkansas
