by Phil Sanders

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16).

Today is the best day you have to do a kindness, to lift up a broken-hearted friend, to study God’s Word, to pray, or to tell a friend about the Lord. Today is the best day, because it is really the only day you have. Tomorrow is gone, and tomorrow is but a presumption.

John Mason (1706-1773) said, “As every thread of gold is valuable, so is every minute of time.” Moments keep coming but, once passed, cannot be reclaimed or redone. This is why making every moment’s record be for good rather than ill is so important. We truly do trade a piece of lives for the moments we live.

The philosopher Nietzsche believed that “God is dead.” What he meant is that God no longer lived in the lives of people. Nietzsche himself had been a seminary student but had been tempted by prostitutes. Contracting a social disease, which ate at his body and his mind, Nietzsche wrote ceaselessly of life without God. He died a madman.

When people cast God out of their lives, they also cast out the very reason for their existence. They end up without hope and without purpose. They may leave a mark, as Nietzsche did; but it will be a harmful mark, leading to despondency and hopelessness.

The days are indeed evil, even when God is in our lives. That is why a close, loving relationship with the Lord is so needed.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov. 9:10). The most foolish thing we can do is to “despise wisdom and instruction” (1:7). If we are to live wise and productive lives, the first thing we must do is to come to know the Holy One. The world is dark and evil, because it does not know Him. Life, love, joy, hope, peace, wisdom, and grace all find their source in God.

Today is the best day you have to serve God and to serve others. Why not make the most of your time by letting God in your life and letting His love work through you. That is truly making the most of your time and is the only thing that lasts beyond this life. All else will be forgotten.