Theme of the Week: Stewarding Time
Bible Verse: “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Ephesians 5:15-17
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5:8-20
Sometimes a day is just another typical day. Other days, you say or do something of significance and you know it comes from God. Years ago, as a young Christian adult, I stood up for some of my Christian peers against our church’s leaders. It would’ve been easier to fold like a cheap suit, especially with my quiet personality. Who am I to question our church’s leaders, I thought. I was also relatively early in my faith journey. But in my spirit, I felt they were wrong and I held my ground. Without getting into all the details, more discussions took place and an outside Christian leader was consulted, and my peers and I were vindicated.
My decision to show some spine instead of being my usual timid self was a kairos moment. The ancient Greeks, and the New Testament, use the Greek words, chronos and kairos to refer to time.
Chronos is the root word for chronology, as you may guess, and it refers to measured time. It refers to the passage of seconds, minutes, days, and so forth. Kairos, on the other hand, refers to an opportune time, an appointed time for something to happen. Chronos is quantitative; kairos is qualitative. Chronos is boring; kairos is exciting. Chronos holds the stopwatch while kairos runs the 100-meter dash.
Ephesians 5:15-16 exhorts us not to live foolishly but to make “the most of every opportunity.” “Opportunity” here refers to kairos time in the original Greek of the New Testament. The writer, the apostle Paul, was basically telling the Ephesian believers to use their time well and not let it pass idly by. He was calling them to make their kairos moments.
Earlier in the chapter in v. 8, Paul reminded the church that they were once “darkness” but now are “light” and therefore should live as “children of light.” Verse 14 continues the theme of light and tells of how Christ shines on them. In this world of contrasts that Paul paints, in addition to darkness versus light, we see in verses 15-16 the contrast of unwise versus wise, and kairos versus evil. We’re usually familiar with the contrast of good versus evil, but here in v. 16, it’s living kairos lives versus evil. One might say kairos living for the Christian is fighting the good and godly fight in a sinful world.
Don’t let chronos time pass you by. Don’t just go along with the way the world lives. As v. 17 says, “understand what the Lord’s will is.” Understand His will. Do His will. Kairos moments will look different for each one of us, but they will undoubtedly be in God’s will. They will also involve Christ shining His light through you.
Time will seem to stand still in your kairos moments because they’re out of the ordinary. You may have to have that difficult conversation with your daughter or decide to talk to that homeless man or volunteer to lead a ministry in your church. God is with you as you make the most of every opportunity.
Prayer: Lord, in the course of my days, may You give me wisdom to know when to be still and when You’re calling me to take particular action.
Reflection: Am I letting chronos time pass me by? Am I just going along with the way the world lives? Or am I rising to the kairos occasion at times and acting decisively and significantly for God?
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