Water Is Always Wet

      “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”, Ephesians 5:16 KJV. We swim in time like fish live in water. Our relationship with time calls for us to value it and make wise choices. Fish are automatically benefited by the water they swim in because they are not creatures of choice.

       I learned about making wise use of time from prison inmates who turned to God. Inmates spoke about time as a sentence given them by a judge. They used adjectives to describe time such as; big, slow, heavy, wasted, empty, and dead. When they gave up on doing something constructive with themselves it became dead without meaning.

       Redeemed inmates would say, “Don't let the time do you in, you can do the time.” This happens when we look for ways to make our here and now count for personal growth and the doing of good. As prison chaplain I urged the men to look for unique opportunities afforded by the prison where they could invest in personal growth.

      Now is the only place where we can redeem our time. The past is history we can learn from but we can not live there. The future is a hope but it is uncertain if we will arrive there. Satan wants us to be slaves to past guilt and failures instead of living now in the light of forgiveness. Satan wants us to anxiously brood over a future of anticipated problems and nagging worries of what if this or that happens. The Lord in the light of trust in His guidance and mercy calls us to invest in our present situation to do all the good we can for others. He calls us to be present and accounted for His team.

        In our rushed lifestyle a popular illusion is the concept of “someday”. We excuse ourselves from being faithful to God right now if we buy into the notion, “Someday when I have more time. When I am not so busy. Then I will give God time and service.” In moments of clarity we see instead that “the time is now to fulfill each vow, for I may never pass this way again”.

      Do fish talk about the nature of water each day with surprise, “Did you notice how wet the water is today?” How clueless this would be! It is ironic that we as humans express shock when we say , “how time flies!” or “where did the time go?” or “how does time get away from us so quickly?” Like water is wet, time is fleeting.

    May we each day redeem our time to honor our Lord and be fruitful for His kingdom. Now is the only time to seek God and serve Him! Thank the Lord for the gift of today! It is Divine opportunity.