Oh, how precious is time, and how it pains me to see it slide away, while I do so little to any good purpose.
David Brainerd
Resolved: Never to loose one moment of time but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can. – Johnathan Edwards. Mr. Edwards wrote these words at the tender age of eighteen. A sobering thought for a fellow eighteen year old. Right on the brink of adulthood, and trying to file my own taxes I’d like to say that I have my life figure out as well as Edwards did. After all, I agree with what he wrote and see the since in it. But that’s not the question. The question is do I think of the lost souls that walk about me when I feel pain? Do I live as to have no regrets when I grow old? Or as if have already seen the happiness of heaven and the sufferings of hell?
Edwards did. This is what filled his thoughts and writings. He was concerned about living for Christ and using the time God had giving him wisely. Edwards was of the view that money lost could be regained, but time lost was lost forever, thus making it our most valuable possession; and yet the one we waste the most of. All of us (my very guilty self included) twiddle our thumbs, and watch our lives play out before us. Watching movies, scrolling through instagram, even reading can be a waste of our time! Anything we do that is not to God’s most glory and my own good, profit and pleasure can and should be considered a waste of precious time. So how do we do it? How do we redeem our time for The LORD?
First -We do what we do for God’s glory (1Cor 10:31). This means that whatever you do you honor God through it. If you’re taking a test, you do your best because that is what God requires (Col. 3:23), if you’re watching a show you thank Him for giving us creativity and the ability to enjoy it (Gen. 1:27), if you’re taking a walk/run you praise Him for the beauty of the earth (Gen. 1:3-27), and if the government says stay inside and away from large groups then we obey the authority God has set over us and choose happiness because of God’s provision for us (Rom. 13:1-3).
Second -We advance His Kingdom (Matt 6:10, 28:16-20). While this point and the next can easily fit under the umbrella of the first it is important that we share the gospel and advance God’s kingdom. Part of how we do this is through prayer for the people we know, our church leaders, our nations leaders, other nations leaders, and missionaries.
Third– We lay aside every weight and sin (Heb 12:1). This means we throw away anything that is A. sin or B. impedes us from following Christ to our fullest. We want to strive after God with all our strength. We want to grow to look more and more like Christ. To grow in love, in patients, goodness, in gentleness! We are commanded to run our race with strength and endurance, to proclaim Christ’s name and give God all glory. And our success begins with how we redeem our time.
Setting The Example 