Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16
The above verse was written almost 2,000 years ago by the Apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus. Many things have happened in human history since then and some things have changed, but one of the things that has not changed is that the days are still evil and we must be very careful in how we live and interact with others. The word “walk” as used in this verse and elsewhere in the Bible refers to our everyday lifestyle and choices. All of us can put on a show at church, or when we are around someone we want to impress, but God sees how we live day in and day out and that is what is being referred to here. If we want to please our Lord and be an authentic person of faith, it must be proven in the day to day living we do when no one is watching us. Each of us only has so much time on this earth to do good, and then comes judgment day and eternity. (Hebrews 9:27) God knows exactly when our time is up in this world, we do not! Being aware of this reality should motivate us to make full use of each day to accomplish God’s will in our life as that is exactly what we will be held accountable for. This first of all means trusting in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross of Calvary for our salvation. This is step 1. We must then yield each day to what the Word of God teaches us and what the Spirit of God is directing us to do. It means making every day about loving God first with all we have, and then taking the time and effort to love others as we would want to be loved. (Matthew 22:37-39) We can really only do this by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are given once we fully trust in Jesus, so step 1 must be done first. Why does living this way seem so difficult? Well, we have three opponents to the life of God in us: the world, the flesh and the devil. The world system that promotes selfishness works with our own flesh/pride and the whispering of the devil in our ear to get us to seek what we want more than what would please God or benefit others. It is the fight we are all in if we seek to make our life count now, and for eternity. Anyone who does not recognize this ongoing conflict is certainly giving in to selfish ways continually and does not even realize what they are doing. Sin has a numbing affect on our soul that makes us unaware of all the damage we are doing and leads us into even further wickedness and selfishness; this is why you see people slowly but surely descend into carnal ways and not seem to be even cognizant of how they are offending God and hurting others; all that matters to them is that they get their way and are heard for their opinion. My friends, this is no way to live and it will not go well on judgment day for those who do not repent. The remedy for this is to seek the Lord with all your heart each day and quickly confess and turn from anything you become aware of that is displeasing to our Savior. We must choose each day to follow Jesus very closely and to walk/live in His light/truth to have close fellowship with Him. The solution to falling into sin and straying from God is to have a vibrant growing faith that is motivated by love and gratitude towards Jesus. The days are evil and there seems to be a growing disregard for God and the eternal truths of scripture. We cannot change other people, but we can choose to surrender to God today ourselves, and to walk faithfully with Him going forward. Be sure you are His through salvation in Christ, and then take steps each day by reading the Bible, praying, worshiping God and obeying His Word. We all pilgrims on a journey through life individually, but we can travel together and support each other as believers. Don’t try to do this alone; join the family of God and His church can provide the companionship, support and encouragement that will help you to to travel well. Blessings!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Gary Houdek