Redeeming the Second Chance: Spiritual Discipline of Stewarding the Time
Versi Bahasa Indonesia dari tulisan ini sudah lebih dulu dimuat di WarungSaTeKaMu.org dengan judul Sekaranglah Kesempatan Kedua Itu!: Disiplin Rohani Menebus Waktu.
Time: a timeless concept by itself.
Time: often cherished yet taken for granted for most of the time.
Control of time: my answer when asked, “What superpower would you choose if you could have one when you woke up tomorrow morning?”
Time: the subject of countless literary works, including:
’Tis Love who altered the course of time. [Adalah Cinta yang mengubah jalannya waktu.]
Because of Love, time is split in two: [Karena Cinta, waktu terbagi dua:]
with you, and the yearning to turn it back. [denganmu dan rindu untuk membalik masa.]
The seconds hand never backtracks [Detik tidak pernah melangkah mundur]
but that clean slate is always there; [tapi kertas putih itu selalu ada;]
time always moves forward [waktu tidak pernah berjalan mundur]
and each day never recurs, [dan hari tidak pernah terulang,]
but the dawn always offers a new tale [tetapi pagi selalu menawarkan cerita yang baru]
to all the questions yet to be answered. [untuk semua pertanyaan yang belum sempat terjawab.]
(In 30 seconds, I had become a fan of AADC.)
Lastly, time: a seemingly rare resource in the realm of spiritual discipline. Many respondents of my survey put "lack of time" as their hardest obstacle to practice spiritual disciplines daily. As I was reflecting on this reality, Paul's words in Ephesians 5:15–20 came into mind:
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, …
What did Paul mean by those words? Digging deep into the passage’s big picture led me to be convinced that stewardship of time is a most important spiritual discipline in this age, "all the more as [we] see the Day drawing near" (Heb. 10:25; cf. Mat. 24:42, 44).
The background behind the letter to the Ephesian church has been expounded by one of my past articles, so here we would focus straightly on the passage. Paul began the chapter with one main commandment in verse 1–2, where we once again see Christ-likeness as the goal of spiritual discipline itself:
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
But how do we live as imitators of Christ? The answer is elaborated by Paul in the next 18 verses, which can be divided into three parts that are packed with comparisons between life in the darkness of the world and in the light of Christ. The first part (vv. 3–6) lists warnings for the Ephesian congregation (and us) to not become like this world. Why so? The second part (vv. 7–14): because we are “children of light” (v. 8) whom God has raised from the darkness of sin and death (v. 14) so that we may “discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (v. 10). What is pleasing to the Lord are then explained by Paul in four pairs of commandment and warning (vv. 15–18), which he then concluded with several further instructions (vv. 19–20):
From the four verses above, I would like to highlight a phrase and a word whose original meaning in Greek reveal more about how we are to interpret and apply these verses.
Firstly, the phrase “Making the best use of” in verse 16 stands for the word exagorazō, which can mean “redeem” or “purchase”. By this diction, Paul was encouraging the Ephesians (and us) to redeem the time that is usually used for “unfruitful works of darkness” (v. 11) for things that are “pleasing to the Lord” (v. 10) and shaping us to become more like Christ. At the end of their lives, many wish for a second chance in life, but for we who have been redeemed by Christ, the life that we now live is our second chance (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 2:20), especially since we don’t know when Jesus’ second coming will be (Mat. 24:44).
Next, I would like to highlight the word “be filled with” (plērousthe, v. 18), which here takes the form of an imperative present tense verb, meaning that it is to be done not only once but continuously and indefinitely. This grammatical choice reveals Paul’s intention explicitly: we are not to live in blind pursuit of our desires (“get drunk with wine”) but to surrender our lives to be filled continually with the Spirit of self-control (Gal. 5:22–23; cf. Mat 24:42). By living as such, we are enabled by the Lord to worship Him, both individually and with other believers (v. 19), “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (ay. 20).
Our discourse so far has hopefully shed light on the relationship between Christ-likeness and the spiritual discipline of time stewardship: becoming more like Jesus (vv. 1–2) means living every second of life (v. 8) that He has redeemed from the darkness of sin and death (vv. 14, 16) in the light of the Holy Spirit (v. 18) so that we may understand and obey the will of the Lord in our lives (vv. 15, 17) for His glory and our joy (vv. 19–20).
When someone learns of my various responsibilities in the office and ministry, he/she would usually ask me, “How can you complete all those?”
After reading and reflecting on the passage again for this writing, particularly verse 13–20, I can now see that there are at least seven things that I have been practising through which the Lord fills me with His Spirit (v. 18) to steward my time that He has redeemed in these end times.
#1. Begin the day with the Word of God (vv. 13–14)
You can guess from the article which I quoted at the beginning that I am a hardline supporter of morning devotionals. While it’s perfectly fine to have devotionals at night, I believe that the best practice is to do it the moment after waking up. Like the morning sun which rouses the world from the darkness of night, so does the Bible through morning devotionals “arises” us to live in the light of Christ (vv. 13–14). Having a personal fellowship with God as the first thing we do in the morning reminds us that He is the centre of our lives who dictates the pace of our day, not our relationships nor responsibilities. It’s like a morning briefing with God that directs how we are to carry out our activities on that day.
But what if our schedule requires us to begin the day even before dawn? Then try to sleep and wake up earlier. As an environmental consultant, more often than not I have to be at the survey location early in the morning so that I can observe the animals whose activities begin with the sunrise. It was hard for me initially to sleep and wake up earlier so that I can have morning devotionals, but through the fellowship with the Word prior to exploring the forest, I become better prepared to enjoy Him and His glory in the environment that He created.
#2. Ensure that the priorities are in the appropriate order (vv. 15, 17)
It is against the backdrop of recentering our lives in the joyful presence of the Lord that we deploy this tactic. Why so? Because we would definitely make time for things that we prioritise no matter how miscellaneous it is. Since these priorities reveal the true highest object that we worship in our lives, we ought to ask God for wisdom (Jam. 1:5) so that we’d always seek His kingdom and righteousness first (Mat. 6:33) in all things that we prioritise so that we don’t live as a fool (vv. 15, 17).
As an Indonesian in Singapore, I could choose to relax and chill every night after working all day without a single care for my family back home or my other responsibilities. After all, don’t I deserve to rest? Praise the Lord that I know how my priorities ought to be ordered so that I may become more like Christ, even during nighttime that can be easily wasted. Please note that I’m not making excuses to keep myself busy every night with work and ministries; there are specific times which I prioritise to rest, watch drama series, gather with friends, read a book, and, for certain, have a phone call with my family back home.
#3. Identify and manage the existing limitations and distractions (vv. 16, 18)
After understanding how we ought to order our priorities, we need to identify and anticipate various threats that may disrupt that order. We are indeed blessed by God with the same amount of time (24 hours a day), but each of us possesses different sets of limitations and distractions. Once again, we need wisdom from the Lord (Jam. 1:5) to identify and manage the types of wine that could inebriate and distract us from obeying His will (v. 18).
My main limitation is the tendency to carry more responsibilities than I could. During my early years in Singapore, I had a hard time identifying and managing this limitation. I have known myself better since then and am more able to say no to many offers of responsibilities. Most of the people close to me would say that I am busy, but in reality, I always have and make time to have fellowship with and listen to them. On the other hand, my main distraction is video game; if there is one in my gadget, I would be addicted and play most of the time. For this problem there is only one solution: uninstall the game so I can focus on my priorities.
#4. Plan the schedule with “spaces” (v. 16)
In the last week of 2020, I caught up with several groups of friends whom I had not met for a long time due to our respective busyness. As an extrovert, interacting with many people for consecutive days shouldn’t wear me off, even when some fellowships occur impromptu. You can imagine how weird did I feel when I decided to rest at home for the first weekend of this year. Verse 16 helped me to realise that I hadn’t used my time wisely because I didn’t plan for “spaces” in my schedule, by which the grace of God may work through impromptu things and rest.
This lesson I then practised on the last Friday of January, when I deliberately took a leave to work on this article series. While I failed to achieve my goal of completing two articles, there was still a lot of spare time for the rest of the day. Seeing this “space” as a grace from God, I decided to use it to prepare the material for my discipleship group meeting two weeks from then. My rationale was to free up more time in the following weeks to complete the remaining articles and to anticipate impromptu needs. It turned out to be a good decision, for the next week saw one missionary institution requesting me to contribute one short writing, which I was able to complete due to several “spaces” I had in my schedule. Such is the importance of “spaces” in our daily schedule.
#5. Involve others for accountability (v. 19)
The element of community will almost certainly come up in every discourse on the practice of spiritual discipline—including stewardship of time—because it rings a timeless truth. It was a housemate who reminded me that there’s still tomorrow when I “only” finished one article as recounted in tactic #4. Therefore, we’re not surprised that Paul encouraged the church in Ephesus to “[address] one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” in verse 19, for through the fellowship with fellow members of the body of Christ we can praise the Lord “with [our] heart”.
#6. Give thanks always and for everything to God in the name of Lord Jesus (v. 20)
The word “always” may confound you. “So even when we’re bathing we’re supposed to give thanks to God? and even in the face of dire situations?” Yes, if you do it in the name of Lord Jesus.
John Piper in one of his podcasts explained that the phrase “unceasingly” (adialeiptōs) in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 is an adverb that describes a verb being done repeatedly and often, not every second. Although the Greek word that is translated as “always” in Ephesians 5:20 is not adialeiptōs but pantote instead, they bear similarities that the connotation of “being done repeatedly and often” can be said to also apply for this sixth tactic. And yes, we do it for all things that occur in life. Why so? Because giving thanks “always and for everything” aligns us with the will of God (v. 10) so that we can see that He works in every moment of life, both good and bad, to conform us to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:28–29).
Among the others, this tactic may be the easiest to apply. Besides prayers in the morning, at night, and before every meal, I usually deploy this tactic while I’m commuting from and to the office, taking short breaks during working hours, and even while bathing to remember and give thanks to God for everything that happened on that day.
#7. Remember: what’s past is past, but Jesus has redeemed the future (vv. 15–20)
At the end of the day, we may regret the decisions and actions that we took on that day. “If only I had eaten faster, I would haven’t been late to meet with the client for sure!” “How could I have forgotten to look at the clock, I ended up watching Korean drama for too long!” This is why we have to hold on to an important truth before we sleep, which I surprisingly found in the lines of the poem that I quoted earlier. A slight modification resulted in this verse:
’Tis [the Lord who is Love] who altered the course of time.
Because of [Him], time is split in two:
[without Him], and the yearning [for His presence].
The seconds hand never backtracks
but [the grace of Christ] is always there;
time always moves forward
and each day never recurs,
but the dawn always offers a new tale
to all the questions yet to be answered (Lam. 3:22–23).
Indeed, at the end of the day, it is not us who “altered the course of time” but the Lord (vv. 17–18, cf. Gen. 50:20). In our nature as sinners, all priorities and schedule that we have planned in tactics #1–6 we may instead use to oppose God, consciously and unconsciously. Nevertheless, at the end of the days that are evil (v. 16) we can surrender to Him and sleep soundly, knowing that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). Even more so, we can fall asleep with the hope that Lord Jesus will raise us the next morning and graces us with yet another day to be redeemed in Him (cf. Lam. 3:22–23; Php. 3:13–14) “as [we] see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:25).
In closing, based on a line of thought in tactic #7, I would like to direct your eyes to the Lord Jesus Himself. Notice that He had never been in hurry in His life, not even once. He always knew the right time to act (e.g. Him resurrecting Lazarus in John 11:1–44 and His calling to Zaccheus in Luke 19:1–10) because He always made time to have fellowship with God the Father and seek His will, even after serving all day long the previous day (Mrk. 1:35). And “When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luk. 9:51) to die to redeem His people.
Knowing that the Spirit of Christ fills us (v. 18), we strive to live in His grace that enables us to “[make] the best use of the time” (v. 16), stewarding every second of this second chance “for godliness” in anticipation of His second coming (Rev. 22:20). Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
As Anthony Hoekema wrote in The Bible and The Future, “Live as if Christ had just died yesterday, was risen up today, and will come again tomorrow.”
The grace of Lord Jesus be with you, soli Deo gloria.
Questions for reflection
How have you been understanding and using the time?
Spend ~10–15 minutes to read Ephesians 5:1–20. Take note of things that you learn from the passage, especially those concerning the spiritual discipline of stewarding the time.
Of the seven tactics to redeem the time, which have you been practising and/or you will start practising?
Are there any other events in the life of Lord Jesus which you can imitate in making the best use of the second chance that He has given you?
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