Redeem the Time
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” ESV Ephesians 5:15-16
Each of the past few years I’ve taken time in the fall to read a couple of sermons by one of my favorite theologians, Jonathan Edwards. One of the sermons is titled Procrastination; the other is titled The Preciousness of Time. Both of them remind me that every day is a gift from God.
Tabletalk, a devotional magazine, published an article about Edwards recently that brought him to mind this week. In it, they quote Sean Lucas as saying: “There was a time when Jonathan Edwards wasn’t Jonathan Edwards. That is to say, there was a time before Edwards was the great theologian and pastor his is now known to be.” His point is that Edwards made some decisions as a young man that very much impacted the direction that his life would take.
Somewhere beginning along about the age of nineteen, Edwards, over the course of a few years, penned seventy resolutions to himself. (They’re easy to find online if you’ll search keywords Edwards and resolutions.) Here is a sampling of his resolutions:
#5 Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.
#6 Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
#16 Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.
#17 Resolved, that I will live so, as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
#28 Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.
#43 Resolved, never, henceforward, till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, but entirely and altogether God’s.
Very soon Christmas celebrations and feasts will be in full swing. Many folks (myself included) would do well to adopt Edwards’ 20th resolution: Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance, in eating and drinking. Ouch!
Every time I read his resolutions I’m awestruck at his disciplined way of thinking. If you’ll read them all, you’ll quickly note that all seventy of his resolutions reflect his intense desire to honor God in all his ways.
Jonathan Edwards not only made God-centered resolutions; he lived them. Jonathan Edwards, while not without fault, sincerely strived for a godly lifestyle. Do you live each day for the glory of God? Paul admonishes us to do so in 1Corinthians 10:31 where he writes: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
What God-centered resolutions might you pen to yourself today? It’s never to late to start.
Ken Askew
Each of the past few years I’ve taken time in the fall to read a couple of sermons by one of my favorite theologians, Jonathan Edwards. One of the sermons is titled Procrastination; the other is titled The Preciousness of Time. Both of them remind me that every day is a gift from God.
Tabletalk, a devotional magazine, published an article about Edwards recently that brought him to mind this week. In it, they quote Sean Lucas as saying: “There was a time when Jonathan Edwards wasn’t Jonathan Edwards. That is to say, there was a time before Edwards was the great theologian and pastor his is now known to be.” His point is that Edwards made some decisions as a young man that very much impacted the direction that his life would take.
Somewhere beginning along about the age of nineteen, Edwards, over the course of a few years, penned seventy resolutions to himself. (They’re easy to find online if you’ll search keywords Edwards and resolutions.) Here is a sampling of his resolutions:
#5 Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.
#6 Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
#16 Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.
#17 Resolved, that I will live so, as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
#28 Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.
#43 Resolved, never, henceforward, till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, but entirely and altogether God’s.
Very soon Christmas celebrations and feasts will be in full swing. Many folks (myself included) would do well to adopt Edwards’ 20th resolution: Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance, in eating and drinking. Ouch!
Every time I read his resolutions I’m awestruck at his disciplined way of thinking. If you’ll read them all, you’ll quickly note that all seventy of his resolutions reflect his intense desire to honor God in all his ways.
Jonathan Edwards not only made God-centered resolutions; he lived them. Jonathan Edwards, while not without fault, sincerely strived for a godly lifestyle. Do you live each day for the glory of God? Paul admonishes us to do so in 1Corinthians 10:31 where he writes: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
What God-centered resolutions might you pen to yourself today? It’s never to late to start.
Ken Askew
posted by TBC at
12/17/2008 09:11:00 AM
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