Death is part of life. It’s the lingering shadow always in the background. It’s the constant reminder, both positive and negative, that this, too, shall pass (no matter what “this” is). For the rest of the world, the reality of death brings perspective – it forces you to come to grips with your relative smalllness in the scope of the cosmos and history.

Your days are numbered. All of ours are. And none of us knows the number.

True enough, some of us find ourselves (or will find ourselves) having a better idea of what that actual number might be, but there is no progressive revelation with God. He knows the number of our days because He alone has set the number.

But the cross and the empty tomb of Jesus has made death to be the fool. It happens again and again. For what was once upon a time for all of us the moment of hopelessness has been transformed into the pathway to glory.

Paul knew this. And because he did, he had no qualms discussing the reality of death. In fact, given the frequency with which he discussed the subject, you can draw the conclusion that a regular reflection on the reality of death is actually good and healthy for the Christian.

Take, for example, Ephesians 5:15:

“Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— making the most of the time, because the days are evil.”

Digging into the language of this verse is helpful for us, because this verse is about life, but it’s couched in the reality of death.

The exhortation here is to make the most of the time you have. Literally, Paul wrote to “redeem” the time. That is, he wants us to “buy it back.” That’s what redemption is – it means to buy back that thing that has been lost to our possession, to pay the price and bring it back where it should be.

The redemption in this case is about time. And that’s where we find the death part of this verse. Paul might have used a couple of different words in this passage, both of which translate into English as “time.” He might have used the word chronos, which is the word you would use if you were asking someone what time it was during the day. This is the word for hours and minutes and seconds. Though he might have used that term for time, he did not.

Instead, the apostle used the word kairos. This word is more about opportune time. It means time that is appointed – chosen – for special purposes. And because God is constantly moving and active in the world, and in our lives, we have kairos moments of time every day.

Paul knew that as the chronos ticks by, second by second, so do we have the chance to make the most of kairos. The wise among us know these moments are there – and they take advantage of them:

They spend that extra time with their children to make them feel valued and secure.

They do not despise the interruption to their daily schedule when they have a chance to listen or pray with another.

They do not turn away when an opportunity to share the gospel in word and deed is clearly there.

The wise have developed a spiritual sense that recognizes that within each 24 hour period of chronos there are opportunities of kairos, and they’d better make the most of them because their days are numbered.

As are mine. As are yours. During your chronos today, don’t miss the chance to recognize and act on the kairos.