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I will offer some biblical principles for redeeming the time. They will help give us a way to sort through all the things that we do in a given day, week, month, and year. The goal is that we go over every item that we have on our schedules, and assess each one individually according to these principles. The goal would be that we are redeeming the time for God, ultimately putting every bit of the time that we spend on this earth into its proper subjection to our Lord and Master.
“The point is that we do not have our own work to do. Rather, we all have only His work that He has commissioned for us to do. Remember, we were bought for a price. Our life is not our own, but is fully commissioned for the service of God, in whatever station God has allotted for us. So, we can be mechanics, janitors, house-wives, or ministers, and all be fully-engaged in the work of God in our common, regular life.”
By regularly having family worship, we can more naturally and easily bring biblical teaching into every area. We do not need to “inject” God or the Bible into regular life, but have this as the paramount thoughts and meditations throughout the day. God’s instructions come to govern everything that we say, do, and think, making this a regular part of our daily rhythm.
Like with prayer, we must set aside time explicitly for the purpose of reading and studying the Bible (meditating, or chewing on, and digesting the Word). As with prayer, we ought to jealously guard this time, recognizing that God’s priorities take precedence over everything else, and, in fact, set the course for every area of our lives. The only way to have a well-ordered life (redeeming the time) is for us to regularly and actively be in God’s Word.
We saw in the last devotional that we have a biblical mandate to redeem the time. This is a comprehensive command that pursues walking in the light, and is contrasted with living as the world lives. Despite being comprehensive, there are many ways that this command is practical. It literally refers to going over every area of our lives and heart, actively testing them with Scripture, and then seeking to conform them to what we learn is pleasing to God.
In a way, redeeming the time is as seeking to conquer our hearts for the Lord, according to the grace that we have in Christ. We can either be active or passive in this pursuit. However, be warned: is anyone is a genuine believer, then they will seek to be active in this pursuit, whether they are consciously aware of all that entails or not. This is because, to not do so is what characterizes those still in darkness, who have not yet seen the light of Christ or His gospel.
