Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Ephesians 5:8-16.
“Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).
“See then that ye walk circumspectly” (Ephesians 5:15).
Paul uses “walking” in Ephesians as a metaphor for conducting the
Christian life. This began in Ephesians 4:1 when he exhorted believers to “walk
worthy” of their calling and continued in Ephesians 5:2 with the command to “walk
in love.”
In Ephesians 5:8 this theme persists as Paul exhorts believers to “walk
as children of light,” in other words, to live as Christians.
He adds in 5:15 an exhortation to “walk circumspectly,” which
means carefully, intentionally, and deliberately.
At the end of v. 15 we hear the spirit of Solomon. Walk “not as
fools but as wise” (cf. Proverbs 3:5-6; 9:10).
He adds in v. 16, “Redeeming the time…” The verb “to redeem” means
to purchase out of the marketplace. We usually think of this term as relating
to salvation, but here it applies to sanctification. It means, Make the most of
your time. Be a good steward of your time. Do not wander about aimlessly in
life. Don’t fritter away your time. Make the best use of it for the spiritual
good of yourself and of others.
Time is slipping away and soon our days will be gone. How will we
have spent them?
R. C. Sproul observed on this passage: “We are called to be
productive Christian people, and in order to be productive, we must be careful
with our use of time. I have as much time in the day as the President of the
United States has. To make the most of every opportunity means to make wise use
of it, so that the things we are doing are productive and helpful, not
destructive and wasteful” (Ephesians, 129).
It is likely not accidental that a great watch making industry
developed in Geneva, Switzerland, the city of John Calvin and a center of the Protestant
Reformation. The Reformers taught that we were to be good stewards of every
minute in our lives, so they wanted carefully to measure it.
Life can indeed be swept away in a moment. I think of those floods
that swept through Texas last week. I think of the dear brother in our church whose mortal life was also swept away so unexpectedly last week. Who knows if
we will make it through this day, this week, this month, this year. Psalm 31:15
says, “My times are in thy hand.”
Paul says, “the days are evil” (5:16) He means we are living in
this present evil world (cf. Galatians 1:4). We are living between the times,
between the ages. We are awaiting the return or our Lord and the redemption of
our bodies at the resurrection. But this does not mean we merely rest in passivity
in this life. It means active living of the Christian life, active pursuit of
faithfulness and holiness.
It calls for walking as children of light and walking
circumspectly.
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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