Ephesian 5:15-16
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Paul tells us to “make the best use of the time.” He literally tells us to “redeem” the time. That is, buy back time and save it from the distractions and distortions of the broken world in which we live. The Lord calls us not to simply spend our time, but to invest it wisely.
As I wrote earlier this week, the word for time which Paul uses in Ephesians 5 is the Greek kairos, which refers to a point in time or a season of time which has significance. There are kairos moments during the day, and there are kairos seasons during our life. The Lord calls us to recognize and respond to kairos situations.
However, it is also important to understand that kairos refers to more than moments and seasons. We are actually living in a kairos era. The gospel of Mark records the words of Jesus at the beginning of his messianic ministry. “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15).
The word used in the verse “the time is fulfilled” is kairos. Jesus announced that the time for the long-awaited Messiah had arrived, and his ministry was beginning. Resident within Jesus’ announcement is the reality that the kairos/time of the Messiah would be limited. Jesus would only be on the earth three more years following his announcement, after which He would die on the cross, resurrect from the dead, and ascend into heaven.
Then Jesus would send the Holy Spirit, who would indwell Christians so that they could carry on the message and the ministry of the kairos/time of the Messiah during their respective lifetimes.
Do you understand the implication of this? Jesus broke into chronos/time and brought the kairos/time of the kingdom of God to planet earth. Jesus inaugurated a new era, a new time, on planet earth. The era of the presence of the kingdom. He then commissioned his followers to be agents of the kingdom—agents of the kairos/time of the kingdom—to the world.
The world moves along in the flow of chronos, not recognizing the kairos in its midst. Not recognizing that God has broken into history in the person of Jesus and continues to say to the world, “Hey! Slow down. Stop for a moment and recognize what has happened. Look carefully. Don’t you see? The time is fulfilled. God’s promise of redemption is here. Now.”
It is our mission to help people see the kairos in the midst of the chronos.
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God … Behold, now is the favorable time [kairos]; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 5:20 and 6.2)
May people see in us and hear in us the presence of Jesus and His kingdom.
