Redeemed

That’s such an important words to Christians, by through Christ we are redeemed. It says so:

Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. (1 Corinthians 7:23 KJV)  The Greek word translated as ‘bought’ here is ἀγοράζω, to purchase or to redeem.

Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. (Colossians 4:5 KJV)  Here the word translated ‘redeeming’ is ἐξαγοράζω, to rescue from loss, and also to redeem.

We cannot purchase our time, but we can rescue it from loss by being a good steward of our time. How our days are spent is a question of stewardship since our time is limited.

Friday I pretty much lost a day, feeling ill I accomplished little more than taking aspirins, napping and cautiously not adding to the headaches I hoped would go away. I took some of my Beloved Husband’s time, too, as he saw to it I ate meals on time.

He rescued me, thus redeeming time. We can do that when what we do is done in love for another – done in service to our Lord’s commands. Both of the top commands remind us to love:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Matthew 22:37-39 KJV)

When we follow these commands, we should be able to hear Him say:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. (Matthew 25:35-36 KJV)

We would be doing those things as part of our nature. Most of us don’t, though. We seem to forget our neighbors and certainly don’t take in strangers – we know that can be dangerous, don’t we? Aren’t the hungry taken care of by the Red Cross or local shelters? The other things – well, don’t we have families to care for? We simply run out of time.

Somehow others do find time to accomplish a great of the above in our Lord’s service. I find that I don’t do as well as I believe I should. No one can change that except me. It is up to me to remember that I have been redeemed, and serve Him as He intended. Want to know how to get that done?

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:13 KJV)

As long as I don’t stand in the way.