Redeeming the Time

Time is one thing all of us have. We all have the same twenty-four hours in each day. Would a thirty-hour day allow us to do all that we need or want to do? We would probably be just as frustrated as we are with twenty-four hours. The apostle Paul commanded the Christians at Colossae to "redeem the time" (Col. 4:5).

Paul used a Greek verb in this text that was a commercial term meaning "to buy something out of the marketplace." It is the word used to describe our salvation (Gal. 3:13; 4:5). However, here Paul encourages Christians to "buy up the time." The expression is used only one other time in the New Testament (Eph. 5:16).

The phrase is translated by some versions as "buying up the opportunity." In Greek mythology, "Opportunity" is pictured as a beautiful maiden with long hair down the front of her body. She passes by a person's life only once. As she passes, one must seize her for she will not be back.

In the context, Paul is referring to the conduct of Christians toward non-Christians ("outsiders"). We should buy up the opportunity to show Christ. One writer comments that this buying is an "intensive buying, i.e., a buying that exhausts the possibilities available." Just as a merchant seizes a bargain so Christians should seize the opportunity to be a good example and teach a lost world about the Savior. May God help us to take this opportunity seriously.

Ben