Redeem the Time

When I was on my Emmaus Walk at the beginning of May, one phrase that God brought to mind over and over again was "Redeem the time". I knew I had heard the phrase (or something similar) in Scripture before so I tried to find what my brain was recalling but the small concordance in my Bible didn't help and I couldn't seem to remember exact references.

When I got back home from the weekend I tried looking up the exact phrase but to no avail. Thankfully, BlueLetterBible.org and BibleGateway.com had plenty of translation options and searching abilities to help me find the verses I was trying to find. Because, believe it or not, just putting in "redeem the time" got me nowhere.

There were two verses that were floating around in my mind during that Emmaus weekend:

"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." Ephesians 5:15-17 (ESV)

"Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." Colossians 4:5-6 (ESV)

Now, obviously neither of these have the actual phrase "redeem the time" (mostly translation choices), but I still believe God led me to these Scriptures through that phrase and showed me another way to think of it: "best use of the time".

The Greek word used for "making the most" or "best use" is exagorazō. According to Strong's, it is used only 4 times in the Bible: the two instances I listed above, Galatians 3:13, and Galatians 4:5. While Ephesians and Colossians are both speaking of time and our lives, Galatians uses the word in a different context: Jesus redeeming us from under the Law through His sacrifice.

It's an interesting concept to me right now, both because of my Emmaus weekend (with its theme of "Be Still") and the upcoming move to Nebraska (where I have a chance to begin a new schedule). In order to redeem something, a price must be paid, a sacrifice made. So, in order to make wise use of my time, to "redeem" it, I have to sacrifice something.

What does that look like? I don't know that I know yet. I have a few ideas (one of which is reducing "screen" time) but they're still floating around. I'm hoping with the move to Nebraska that I will be able to begin a new schedule that redeems more of my time and makes better use of it. :)

What are some of your ideas to redeem your time?

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan