Redeeming the Time

Colossians 4:5 "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time."

In case you hadn't noticed, I like definitions. The words used in the Bible have such rich meanings waiting for those who will dig into them! The word "walk" here means, "to live, to regulate one's life, to conduct one's self, to pass one's life." However, my favorite part of the definition is, "to make due use of opportunities."

So the first part of this verse could be phrased, "Pass your life making due use of opportunities in a manner of devout and proper prudence in intercourse with men not disciples of Christ, using skill and discretion in imparting Christian truth to the unsaved."

Now, with that in mind, we look to the second part of the verse. A short, simple phrase, but so much in it! The concept of redeeming is not a common one in today's parlance. However, in Bible times it was a vivid picture. "Redeeming" means, "by payment of a price to recover from the power of another, to ransom, buy off. Metaph. of Christ freeing the elect from the dominion of the Mosaic Law at the price of his vicarious death. To buy up, to buy up for one's self, for one's use. To make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good, so that zeal and well doing are as it were the purchase money by which we make the time our own."

Imagine - your time is held captive and a payment must be made in order for it to become your own. Your time is held captive, held ransom by your flesh and the world. And they do not want to let it go. We must redeem that time, or in other words, we must buy it back, ransom it back, so that we can use it for God's glory (fulfilling the call in the first part of this verse).

How do we buy it back? What is the currency we use? Zeal.

Think on that today.