I have not been able to get this passage out of my head lately and I believe there is good reason. It seems to me that these verses set critical boundaries and expectations that the believer needs to take seriously in these troubled times.
What stands out to me is the admonition to make the best use of our time BECAUSE the days are evil.
Now the days have been evil ever since Paul penned those words (and before he penned them as well). We need to KNOW, UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE this critical truth. The days have been, are and will be evil, THEREFORE, we must make the best use of our time. So, the questions are,
Are we making the best use of our time?
What wastes our time?
What distracts us from the "main things" of the faith?
What should be filling our time?
What should NOT be filling our time.
These are just a few of the questions that are raised in my mind and laid on my heart when I think on this passage. I don't mean they are laid on my heart for you as much as they are laid on my heart for me. It's just tooooooo easy to allow other things to crowd out or overwhelm what we should be about most of the time.
We have to remember that we are called to holiness - individual - depending on the Holy Spirit - holiness. It's not just a Sunday thing or a "part of the day" thing but a 24/7/365/12 thing. WE are to be being conformed to the likeness of Christ and we are to be being transformed by the renewing of our minds, in which we are passive. We are to be actively and diligently involved in those activities and practices that are conducive to the conforming and transforming we are called to see and allow and have in our lives.
If anything is to pre-occupy us, it should be Christ and His claim/call on the entirety of our lives. There is no weekend in the faith and there are no vacations - no time-outs! We are to be His all the time, everywhere.
If we are to be obsessed with anything, it should be the faith and our faithfulness. There is no place in our hearts and lives for anything else - at least there shouldn't be. Why do we not understand that when Paul talks about "suffering the loss of all things for Christ, he is setting an example for each of us? Why do we so conveniently fail to follow Paul as he follows Christ? Though none of us have been called to fulfill the same role that Paul and other apostles were to fulfill, we ARE all called to serve and demonstrate the same faithfulness and diligence that they did. We are all to consider "junk" anything that distracts us from the MAIN thing, which is a plain thing.
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me." Really? Really? Are He and His Way the central issues in our lives? They're not in mine. I have to confess I struggle with all the distractions but I struggle most with this idea/attitude in the church that we are entitled to things other than being conformed to the likeness of His Son.
WE are all caught up in our culture and its permissions and priorities. We have to pray for a convicted heart and repentance. We have lost the primacy of being in and not of the world and I fear it will cost us much in the days to come. I fear it has led many to think they are of the faith who are mere pretenders. I fear it has led many believers far from the faithfulness they need to have in their lives. I fear it has caused the Church to be maligned among the Gentiles. I fear that we have marginalized Christ and His call on our lives - pushing Him into a little neat box where He causes us the least distress and discomfort.
What do you think?
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