Make the Best Use of Christmastime

Christians confess that Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life. And I think an under-appreciated aspect of Jesus’s perfect life is his perfect use of time. Have you ever considered the truth that in Jesus’s three decades on this earth as a man, he never once wasted a moment of time?

You see, time is a precious gift from God, and unlike Jesus, we frequently misuse the time God has given to us. Which is why the apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:16:

“make the best use of the time, for the days are evil.”

Now to be clear, making the best use of the time does not simply mean, “checking more things off our to-do lists.” There’s a time to work hard, and there’s a time to rest well. And as we round out this Advent season and enter Christmastide, we exit a time of waiting and enter a time of celebrating the birth of Christ, the God-Man.

So the exhortation this morning is: make the best use of the time this Christmas season, by actually celebrating the wondrous truth that God became a baby, to save us from our sins.

And this reminds us of our need to confess our sins…

Prayer of Confession

Almighty God, we confess that we frequently, seemingly constantly, misuse the time you have given to us. Every moment, and every day is a gift from your hand, and oh how often do we squander the days you have given us! 

We confess that when it’s time to work, we are often lazy and distracted. And when it’s time to rest, we labor in anxious toil. When it is time to wait and reflect, we distract ourselves. And when it is time to celebrate our Lord, more often than not we complain and we grumble and we reek of discontentment.

In these things, Lord, we are great sinners. And so we ask for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us. Help us to make the best use of the time in this season, as we celebrate all that you have done for us in Christ.

Spirit of God, convict us now in all the ways we need to be as you lead us in a time of silent confession…