10th Sunday after Pentecost, August 1st
Read Ephesians 5: 15-17
As the apostle Paul addresses the church of Ephesus, he gives them instructions on how to live a holy and righteous life before God on a daily basis. He gives great instruction to live as the wise do, not like the unwise, and to take advantage of every single opportunity throughout each day—for each day is a gift from God. The wise give it their best to pursue righteousness each day as the opportunity presents itself, and they do not waste the time they have to serve God. Much in the same way, we must not waste the opportunity with the time we are given; we must take advantage to fill our time wisely.
Time is measured in two ways: it is kept chronologically by seconds, minutes, and hours. Time is also measured by the value in which it is filled. So often we are not good stewards of our time—we do not take advantage of every minute we are given, and we waste time when we could be using it to be productive. Filling your time wisely is to be productive with every minute you are given. Whether it is used to plan, strategize, create, or implement. We would not be good stewards of our time if we let countless minutes go by the wayside without filling them with anything of great importance.
It is not only important to manage your time properly, it is also important to fill your time wisely. Make the most of every minute.
“Winding the clock means to recognize every moment for what it is—a gift from God” (158). Every minute of the day is an absolute gift from God, and we need to be mindful of what we decide to do with every single gift throughout the day.
Winding the clock is not only going backward with time to take advantage of every moment, it is also looking ahead through time to take advantage of every moment. Being good stewards of the time we have now means that we are making decisions, and implementing things that future generations will benefit from. We see this illustrated simply by planting a seed for something to grow; if we plant an acorn today, someone else will enjoy the shade from the oak tree it grows into fifty years from now. It is recognizing the need that may arise in the future and making the decision to act on that need, today.
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