The Gift of Time - Ephesians 5:1-20

Easter is past and we’re now in the church season of Eastertide. Good Friday and Easter remind us of the gifts Jesus has given us of forgiveness, grace, and acceptance; among others. In this season of Eastertide, we’ll be reflecting on a few gifts God has given us and how we can use them to grow more like Jesus and to build his kingdom here. This morning we’re reflecting on this passage in Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus and how we allow the Holy Spirit to form us and how that shapes how we use our time. Each of us is given 24 hours each day and how we use these hours, how we walk through these hours, and what we focus on in these hours, shapes our faith and who we are.

Paul begins by encouraging the church to “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” The word “Follow” is not a command, but the way it’s written shows that this is what they are already doing, “Following God’s example right now at this time, walk in the way of love.” Paul’s reminding them that as followers of Jesus, our lives are all about being like Jesus, walking his way, the way of loving God and neighbour, giving our lives to God as our offering and gift.

As Paul, and other Biblical writers do, he shows us 2 ways of living and being, 2 different ways of using our time; one focused on walking Jesus’ way and the other focused on the way of the world. The ways and culture of Ephesus was very different from the way of Jesus. Ephesus was both a business and cultural center, connecting east and west. Ephesus was an influential center for magic and the practice of the occult, drawing mystics and exorcists from around the known world. It was also home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, goddess of the hunt, wilderness, nature, and childbirth. She was much loved by the people. The goddess was also a great source of income for businesses in Ephesus, which created a confrontation between Paul and these business people.

Luke tells of this confrontation in Acts 19, “About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”

Jesus’ way is different, as Carol Penner writes, “calling Christians to become part of the kingdom of Light, to give up with ways of darkness, to be different than people in the world. When people around you are greedy and are worshipping money, you are called to be a follower of Jesus. When people around you are treating their sexuality lightly and loosely, you are called to be pure, to treat these sexual gifts with reverence. When everyone around you is partying and getting drunk and using foul language, you are called to be a follower of Jesus, to be a light to the world.”

Paul calls the church in Ephesus to “be careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity… understand what the Lord’s will is… Be filled with the Spirit… always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Choosing how you’re going to live your faith out in the world was a big thing in the early church, they looked closely at the things they did during the day and week and began thinking about whether they aligned with who Jesus is and with what Jesus taught, using the idea of light and darkness, or day and night. They realized that what they believed shaped their values which then shaped how they lived and who they were becoming as followers of Jesus. It all begins with accepting Jesus as your Lord over Caesar or any of the other gods and goddesses. When we follow Jesus together as a church, then others will see a community of people who will have different priorities and values which determines how they use their gifts, skills, and time.

Followers of Jesus are always going to stand out from the culture around them. It’s no different today. Today we’re in a transition from the modern culture to a postmodern culture; our foundations of belief and value are changing. Jim Leffel of the Crossroads Project mentions some of the ways culture has changed over the past 20 years, and how people’s understanding of things has shifted. Reality is now in the mind of the beholder. Reality is what's real to me, and I create my own reality in my mind. There’s a growing assumption that people are unable to think independently because they’re molded by their culture and that we cannot judge things in another culture or another person’s life because their truth is just as legitimate as mine. There’s a lack of trust in authority since authority is based on someone else’s belief on how things should be. It leads to a lack of a solid foundation on which to build a life together as a community or society as everyone creates their own values and beliefs. One result is a growing lack of respect for others who think or believe differently from me.

If you look at how these changes in how culture sees and understands life, you begin to understand how some of these new beliefs and values have even entered the church today. All religion, including Christianity, is reduced to the level of opinion as everyone decides what’s true and real for themselves. This leads to a different idolatry today, we ourselves have become our own idols, we make ourselves the creators of truth, and deciders of who belongs to my community. God and Jesus get put to the side unless they affirm our beliefs and truths.

We find our identity, hope, salvation, meaning, purpose in Jesus and not in ourselves. But before we call others to follow Jesus with us, we need to truly embrace Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, to commit ourselves to following him in all areas of our life in a spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude, completely giving ourselves over to Jesus and his truth and way. Christianity declares that it is unique and that it does matter what we believe, we believe that sin exists, sin has consequences, and anyone ignoring those truths will face those consequences. We believe in grace and forgiveness, that Jesus took all our sin onto himself in order to make us right with God the Father. Because of what Jesus did, we are now adopted children of God, precious children whom Jesus paid that huge cost to save, and this means serving him and not ourselves.

Because of how immense Jesus’ sacrifice is, faith and forgiveness is given to us as a free gift from God the Father, and our response is to accept Jesus as Lord and respond to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This shapes our lives and how we use the gift of time. Paul addresses this in verses 15-20, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Wisdom is rooted in God and the way Jesus called us to follow. Living as wise is about living well in relationship with God, others, ourselves, and creation. Wisdom looks like taking the teaching and life of Jesus seriously, understanding what the Lord’s will is, allowing Jesus to shape our priorities, our values, and how we live and use our time. Faith in Jesus forms what we believe, our character, and what we do. At the heart of our faith is relationships, loving God more than anything else, and actively loving our neighbour. In loving our neighbour by feeding them when they’re hungry, giving water when they thirst, clothing them when naked, visiting when sick or in prison, we are actively loving Jesus too.

Wisdom living is kingdom focused, asking ourselves, “How can we live out the values of justice, righteousness, shalom, hospitality, and being a blessing in our community so that it is a place of flourishing for all.” We can use our time to please ourselves, to focus on building our kingdoms, and following our dreams, or we can live in gratitude, thanking God for everything and using our gift of time wisely to raise our children and youth to know Jesus, to invest in others to help them see who they are in Jesus, and to create healthy communities, both in and outside the church, that help each person to discover and develop their God given gifts to benefit and bless each other.