We want to achieve disciplined lives so that, in the time of our lives—all the time of our lives—we might live for the glory of God. Today’s excerpt from The Disciplined Life is from pages 19 and 20:
“Embedded in Paul’s exhortation [to make the best use of our time] are three guidelines for using our time with disciplined bodies to follow Jesus.
“First, we must pay careful attention to how we use our time. The New King James Version puts this well: ‘walk circumspectly.’ Keep an eye on the horizons of your time. Don’t do things in a mindless or merely reactive or blindly repetitive manner.
“As followers of Christ, we have a purpose in life; we shouldn’t rattle around in the time of our lives like pin balls, bouncing uncontrollably from one situation or circumstance to the next. Rather, we should learn to plan our time wisely, numbering the hours and days of our lives in advance, so that we can prepare to use them wisely…
“Second, Paul insists that we must use our time like wise people, not like fools. The fool says in his heart that there is no God. In the life of an unbelieving person, what this means is that God, if He exists at all, has no interest or place in the time of his life…
“But the believer must not live this way; rather, we trust in the Lord with all our heart; in all our ways we don’t want to depend merely on our best thoughts or what others do or say or approve. We want to trust in the Lord and look to Him for guidance in all our ways, all the time of our lives….
“Finally, Paul suggests that we always keep the larger spiritual perspective in view. The days are evil, Paul tells us. Spiritual forces of wickedness in high places are deceiving and misleading many people. They will latch on to anything to advance their pernicious objectives, even things we might mindlessly do or say. Every moment of our time that our bodies waste in non-Kingdom endeavors will be captured by the enemy of our souls and used for his ends…
“We must be vigilant daily, consecrating all our bodily members to the work of the Lord, and beseeching His guarding and guiding presence in all the time of our lives.”
For reflection or discussion
1. Time is a precious gift from God. What’s your approach to make the best use of this gift?
2. Is it really possible in the time of our lives to know God’s Presence and glorify Him? How does that happen?
The more we work to make the best use of our time, the more we will see why living a disciplined life is so essential. How we shape and direct our bodies in time will determine how we use this precious gift of God for His glory and the blessing of ourselves and others. Share today’s podcast with some friends. Encourage your friends to listen to the podcast as well. Then get together to discuss how you can make better use of your time for a more disciplined life. You can download a free copy of The Disciplined Life by going to The Ailbe Bookstore. Get yours, then share it with all your friends.
