Redeeming the Time: Study Guide by Rick Grubbs
I found this little book to be quite a read; although it does work out and sink in more with the DVD that can be purchased with it. Overall this book seeks to help us save our time from going to waste. The book starts by grabbing your attention with its definition of time: time is the passing of life. It gleams this definition from a quote by Benjamin Franklin, “Do you love life? Then don’t waste your time. Because that’s what life is made of.” Now that the book has grabbed you it suggests six reasons why time is truly important, three ways that we can practically redeem it and the real key to saving your time from waste. The last which is a simple question, “What does God want me to do right now?” The six reasons why time is important are as follows:
Ø Time is limited
Ø Death is certain
Ø Our use of Time has Eternal consequences
Ø Time is not recoverable
Ø Time is our most valuable earthly possession
Ø We must give an account for how we spent our time
The book turns to the practical by asking the question, “If we know what we know, then why do we do what we do?” As the author points out, most of us already know most of what he has said. So why then do we not do something about our time? To this the author does not say much but does give us three practical steps to make rescue our time from going to waste: 1) Wake up and get up 2) Get Organized and 3) Get rid of time wasters. And the author then shares the biggest time waster is none other than procrastination. Basically procrastination is defined then as neglecting what God wants me to do right now. All in all this little book is a good tool to gleam from in our own quest to redeem the time.
Now I would like to share with you a few things that really meant a lot to me in this little book. “A wasted life…is nothing more than an accumulation of a lot of wasted time.”(Grubbs, 10) This little sentence has been the first thing to grab me and to be unrelenting in occupying my thoughts. I am guilty, as I am sure we all are, of having purposefully wasted time in the past. To look at my time on this earth in truth as what my life is made of; and that to waste one is to waste the other. I would never purposefully waste my life, but in truth I have in ignorance. I am convicted in this area to never again purposefully waste time, but seek to redeem my time.
A second thing that has really stood out to me is the thought that our use of time has eternal consequences. I am sure I am not alone in the profound effect that ten doutrigintillion as a picture of eternity had. After reading the story that was told at the block class about the man being burnt alive I am left speechless. What pain and suffering someone could experience in a matter of eight minutes and to then apply that to ten doutrigintillion baffles the mind. But as bewildered as that leaves me I know that ten doutrigintillion is but a grain of sand on a beach larger than our universe in compared to eternity. God give me a heart for lost people and for making the most of the time I have now; knowing that my use of time has eternal consequences.
Lastly, I turn more to the practical side of things. Mr. Grubbs says that organization is, “Arranging my life so that God can use me to my fullest potential.” (51) I have always had a mission for my time a GBS and that is to prepare myself to be the best minister that I can be for God’s glory. Now I can clearly see the correlation between organization and my mission. This made me seek a practical way that I could be more organized. So I began by getting 52 marbles and setting a few goals that I want to see accomplished in one year and each Saturday I move one marble from my jar. I do this so I can have a physical, visual reminded that my time is passing regardless of what I am doing with it. I think that this little step is helping me to seek out more ways to be organized.
