According to Webster’s Concise Dictionary of the English Language–Encyclopedic Edition, the word “redeem” has several meanings which depend on the context of the situation. Relative to the spiritual world the word means to regain possession, to rescue, to make worthwhile. Bible students recognize these meanings as they apply to the spiritual condition of mankind and his future. However, there is another area of human life in which the word “redeem” involves the present–time. Though man pays little attention to the passage of time, how it is utilized, etc., time is a commodity greatly valued by both God and Satan. Let us examine each of their attitudes toward the subject in order to determine which one we individually want to accept.

Recently I was in my office studying the Holy Scriptures when I realized that both my mind and my eyes needed a rest. With that in mind I decided to join my wife in the living room for a few minutes of conversation. As I entered the room there was an advertisement running on the television so I sat down to talk with her about her plans for the following day. A few minutes later the program she was watching came back on and, having been at one time a fan of the program, I inadvertently turned my attention to the screen. Some five minutes later I “came to myself” and realized that, like a fish mesmerized by a lure, I had been drawn back into Satan’s make-believe world where I had wasted so many valuable hours in the distant past. Immediately I heard God’s still, small voice reminding me to “Redeem the time.”

These very important Words come from Ephesians 5:10-17 where the Lord, through the Apostle Paul, warns us that time is not only an extremely valuable commodity, it is also ultimately unique in that when it’s gone, it’s gone. No amount of faith, prayer, Bible study, fasting, etc. can bring it back. Nor can what took place be changed. Borrowing from a social catch-phrase, “What happened in the past time stays in the past.” Neither time nor what happened during its passage can be changed. Many a person’s future has been negatively affected by what took place in the past. Therefore, during the time the Lord has allotted us we are to do only that which is acceptable to Him. We know what is acceptable only by studying His Word–His written Will for mankind. As noted in the Ephesians 5 passage, we are commanded not to be involved in behavior that is not acceptable to the Lord. We are to be His spiritual Light which exposes the religious darkness that surrounds us. We are to be alive in Him rather than dead in that which is not of Him. We are not to be fools, but wise, walking (living our lives) “circumspectly”–continually examining our “walk” to make sure that what we do, say and think align with the Holy Bible. Near the end of the passage the Lord summarized His message thusly: “REDEEM THE TIME, FOR THE DAYS ARE EVIL.” In other words, we must take time away from the devil who will always offer a way for us to utilize it. One will not that his way invariably takes one’s mind (heart) off the Lord.  Time is like a vacuum–it demands to be filled. God makes time available and allows man to decide what to do with it. The devil always has a suggestion. To be continued. L.J.