Making Good Use of Your Time

There's a little devotional book by a godly old Norwegian pastor named Ole Hallesby. This was the first devotional book I had as a child (borrowed from my mother) and although most of the thoughts were probably deeper than my understanding, I used that book for years. At some point I loaned it to someone and never got it back. A year or so ago, another copy of the very same book fell into my hands and I've been treasuring it ever since. I think at some point during the years I had actually prayed that I would get my book back - one of those "forgotten" prayers that you don't remember until the Lord answers them. It's been wonderful to have the gift of this little book.

I was reading in this book today and came across a thought that thundered in my brain when I read it. The context was the author's thoughts about God's mercy in the way He chastens us. "Suffering child of God! It is not dangerous to suffer. In this world we are to suffer. Christ went before us also in this respect. We are to follow Him also in suffering. You are making good use of your time when you suffer. You are suffering unjustly, you say? Oh, well, neither is that dangerous. That is the way Jesus suffered all His life."

What an amazing thought - that we are making good use of our time when we are suffering! Only a heart truly gripped by the Holy Spirit can speak those words. It is one of the great mysteries of the Kingdom, like the first being last, the least being greatest. My flesh will never tell me that suffering isn't dangerous, that it's making good use of my time. This echoes of Paul's words that "these momentary, light afflictions are producing for us an eternal weight of glory." Producing an eternal weight of glory is definitely a good use of time; turning light affliction into a weight of glory is a good return on the investment. What Paul considered "light" affliction is rather boggling, though, too (beatings, imprisonments, etc).

Another thought I was chewing on today was from Ephesians 2:10: For we are His workmanship... I was trying to find out what that word "workmanship" means. I know there is the obvious meaning but I thought there might be more behind it. I checked several sources and found an interesting insight in Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. The Greek word for workmanship is POIEMA. It means something that is made, fabricated. It is the word from which we get our word "poem". So the next time I start to feel a bit worthless, I will remind myself that I am God's poem, created in Christ Jesus for good works.