“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:16).

Because of the evil day that is upon us, it is imperative that the Christian buys up (“redeems”) the time effectively for Christ. Whether we use our time selfishly or for the Lord and His work is up to us. Someone has said that the mosquito buys up time for self and gets swatted; the bee buys up time for others and gets praised. Our lives can be so filled with self that we have little time to give to the Lord. Charles Haddon Spurgeon liked to compare time to banking. He said, “Yesterday is a canceled check; tomorrow is a promissory note, but today is cash, so spend it wisely!” The psalmist admonished us to “remember how short [our] time is” (Psalm 89:47), and “we spend our years as a tale that is told” (Psalm 90:9).

Unbelievers even think that they have all the time in the world to accept Christ. As Paul, on the occasion of his own trial, was speaking to Felix concerning “righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come,” Felix trembled, and answered, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee” (Acts 24:25). As far as we know, he was never saved, because he kept putting off his decision. He did not use the time wisely to receive Christ. “Boast not thyself of tomorrow” (Proverbs 27:1).

As far as salvation and time is concerned, the Bible states it clearly, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (II Corinthians 6:2). Those who say they will accept Christ at twelve usually die at eleven. We have no guarantee of tomorrow, so we had best make our present count for eternity! As the old axiom goes, we have “only one life, t’will soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” NPS