Redeeming the Time: Finding Eternal Purpose in Everyday Moments

On Thanksgiving weekend, we prepared our outdoor space for the colder weather. This meant emptying the many flower pots (some are still blooming!), gathering up the garden decor, and storing the patio furniture. As I put things away in the backyard shed, I noticed a couple of projects I never got to over the summer – a bench that needs painting, some items that need to be tossed – and I silently thought, “until next year.” Raggedy benches and unused items are pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The biggest issue with procrastinating is the cobwebs I’ll have to deal with in the spring.

But what about the things that shouldn’t be put off until later?

Ephesians 5:16 tells us, Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Ephesians is a blueprint for how Christians should live. As a Roman hub for commerce and the home of the temple of Artemis, Ephesus was rampant with pagan worship and sexual immorality. Paul contrasted the believers’ past lives with their new lives, instructing them to walk in love, light and wisdom.

In this verse, the Greek word for time is kairos which means “a strategic, appointed moment.” This differs from the word chronos which refers to “time in the quantitative, linear sense.” Paul is not saying we should jam-pack our calendars and micromanage our schedules; instead, he is communicating the importance of seizing the everyday opportunities God provides.

Just as in Ephesus, we live within a culture that is hostile to the Gospel. Every day, we have the opportunity to be a light in a lost, dark world. So, as believers, we need to live with awareness and urgency for what matters. We need to ask, “Am I spiritually awake to what God has prepared for me today?”

So often, we move through our days by checking off our “to-do” lists, doing mundane tasks, fulfilling our responsibilities at work and home, and making plans for what’s next. We may be annoyed by interruptions and frustrated by inconveniences. It takes intentionality to discover eternal purpose in these everyday moments.

“Making the best use of the time” can be as simple as praying while driving. Choosing to read the Bible instead of scrolling on the phone. Using social media to build up others. Showing patience in the drive-thru line. Offering kindness to the checkout clerk. Sending a note to a grieving friend. Inviting a neighbour for coffee. Finding a place to regularly serve at church.

It also means being obedient to the harder things: asking forgiveness, showing compassion, and extending grace. There are always open doors to speak the truth of God’s Word and share the love of Christ.

When you kill time, remember it has no resurrection. A.W. Tozer

Today, regard the everyday moments as sacred opportunities. As believers, we are conduits of hope to a hopeless world and our obedience cannot be delayed. Don’t put off what the Lord is asking right here, right now, for His glory. God is already working in your day, so don’t miss the divine appointments sent from Him.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—  yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”  As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.  So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. James 4:13-17