Redeeming the Time

Prince, our lively and affectionate Siberian Husky, suddenly collapses to the floor as he’s leaping into the the air while welcoming my husband Dan home from work. And he doesn’t get up! He’s not breathing! So we lug his 75 pound body into the back seat of Dan’s car, and rush out of the driveway to the vet. TIME is of the essence! Dan tries to give CPR as I drive, hoping every next stoplight is green. Just let us get there a little sooner, God! As it turns out, there wasn’t enough time to rescue Prince. My guess is he died on the spot where he hit the floor from a heart attack that was so severe even Dan’s CPR couldn’t save him.

The gift of life that each one of us receives at birth inherently contains within it a gift of time. Speaking about our physical, earthly life, we of course don’t know how long it will last; just that we are conscious of the present moment, and can remember some of our past. Back when I was in grade school, it seemed like this life would last almost forever. 80 years old seemed almost as far away as eternity. Now, at 60, my perspective is a little different! The finitude of life is so much more apparent.

So, we need to redeem the time — make the most of it — because it’s limited (at least on this side of heaven). There’s another key reason, though. Ephesians says it’s because the days are evil. Isn’t that being overly negative, you may be thinking? Maybe, but it spurred me to think about how things are today. I see that, according to the Indianapolis Star, there were at least 135 criminal homicides in my home town, Indianapolis, in 2014. Internationally, the atrocity of beheadings is taking place, not in some bygone era, but now, in the 21st century. And we read of the widespread poverty, disease, and even starvation in Africa and other places. And unfortunately, there’s so much more bad out there in the world.

For me, it’s too easy to fall under the illusion that most everyone is healthy, has plenty of clothes, a car, and a home. But it doesn’t take a lot of observation to see the fallacy of that assumption.

While I agree with the author of Ephesians that the days are evil, I would add that they are also GLORIOUS, because God’s love is a powerful reality that’s blossoming all over the world.

So we have the glory of God’s life, love, and genius; along with the infiltration of evil in this world. What’s the smart response? Redeem the time, make the most of every opportunity to make the world a little more like heaven!

Thought for the day: With such an urgent need, how much time can I devote to healing the broken pieces of the world?