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June 16, 2008
Redeeming the Time
by Martha Cochran, Missionary to Japan
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16).
Years ago, I remember Dr. Custer explaining the meaning of this verse. He used the illustration of going shopping, finding something you liked, hesitating to buy it, and then returning only to see that someone else had bought it in the meantime. About that time, I was in a store here in Japan . Having been raised in Pennsylvania , one of my favorite snack foods has always been pretzels. The Japanese in general donÕt like them, so at that time they were not carried in stores here. That day, though, I came to the end of an aisle, and a stack of blue boxes of Nabisco pretzels stopped me dead in my tracks. The next minute I was almost jumping up and down right in the store! Missionaries get excited about some of the most insignificant things, but especially about something from ÒhomeÓ. I picked up two or three boxes, then put all but one back. Often foods from America were already stale by the time they reached the stores. I thought, ÒI can always come back and get more if this box is fresh.Ó A week later I went back and there wasnÕt a box left! IÕve never seen pretzels in that store since.
Though missed boxes of pretzels may be insignificant, missed opportunities to speak to people about Christ are not. My daily prayer is that I will recognize the opportunities, be alert to the needs, and take advantage of the encounters. A man is in Heaven today because of an encounter we had when we were walking our dogs over twenty years ago. A lady came to Bible class and was saved because I still remembered the names of her two children after ten years. Another lady has started coming regularly to our ladiesÕ meeting because I took a bus trip with her and spent time answering her questions. A girl I worked with in Gifu had been away from the Lord for a long time, and we had lost contact. Yoko found my name through the internet, called and said she has been back in church for four years. She wants to come and visit me. Though this is a very busy time for me at church, I want to Òredeem the timeÓ by having her come to stay for a couple of days.
Proverbs 15:23 says, Ò. . . a word spoken in due season, how good is it!Ó Again, Proverbs 25:11 says, ÒA word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.Ó We never know how our words might comfort, encourage, and maybe even pierce a personÕs heart. May God give us wisdom to use our mouths for Him, and to be diligent in redeeming the time.