Whatever Mark G. Wants Wednesday: One Life to Live

Ephesians 5:15-17- Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Make the most of your time... Don't be foolish... Understand what the will of the Lord is... I've been thinking a lot about making the most of my time lately. We don't know how long we have on this earth. Some people live to a ripe old age. Others die before there lives really seem to get started. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that we live to be 80 years old.

80 years
960 months
4,160 weeks
29,120 days (okay, I didn't count leap years)
700,800 hours
42,048,000 minutes
2,522,880,000 seconds

You know, when you think about it like that, it puts a whole new perspective on your time. And nothing says that we will get 80 years. So what does this have to do with anything? I'm glad you asked. If our time is so limited, shouldn't we use it wisely? If we've only got one life, shouldn't we make the most out of it?

I've got a few guarantees for you. When you and I take our last breathe, we won't be worried about a lot of the things that we are now. We won't care who won the BCS title game. We won't care if we got to see that movie. We won't care if we got to take that nap. We won't care if we beat that video game. We won't care how much money we have in our checking accounts. We won't care about our clothes or our house. Earthly things won't matter then.

We will be wondering how we have prepared for eternity. Matthew 6:19-21 says, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

That brings up a question. Where is your treasure? Where is my treasure? Now Ephesians 5 is starting to make sense. Now the command to make the most of my time takes on a whole new meaning. Now I see why I don't need to be foolish. Now I see why I need to understand what the will of the Lord is. We need to be like Jonathan Edwards. He made the following resolution.

"Resolved, never to lose one moment of time: but improve it the most profitable way I possible can."

Let's let go of the earthly things that won't matter in eternity. Why would we spend so much time and energy on things that moths and rust will destroy? Let's make sure our treasure will last. Let's put our time, energy, and resources on Christ and His kingdom. That is the only thing that will matter in eternity anyway. Let's make the most of our time and give Christ our everything.

Just something for us to think about. Until next time, blessings and peace...