On an unexpected trip to England, I found myself gazing up at a church spire in the middle of a charming town I didn’t know existed till a few days prior to that moment.

The town? Market Harborough.

The church? St. Dionysius.

My eyes stayed upward as I noticed a clock on the side of the tower. But it wasn’t the clock that caught my attention. No. It was the three words etched above it in large capital letters.

IMPROVE THE TIME

What an odd phrase! I thought, repeating it in my head. It sounded profound. Profoundly British and scholarly and, well, profoundly deep. But what did it actually mean? What was its origin story?

Of course, I Googled. Surely the internet would have the answer. Right?

Wrong.

My inconclusive search led me to many sites about the history of the church, including the church’s own website. But nothing I read gave even a clue as to the original intent of the expression.

I am slightly embarrassed to admit that my search did correct me on one important detail.

That clock on the church? It’s not a clock. My obsession over the mysterious words kept me from noticing that it is, in fact, a sundial.

The St. Dionysius Sundial

Yes. A vertical sundial with Roman numerals I through XII etched along the left, right, and bottom of its square face — but not in typical clockwise order.

While mind blown by this new information, it brought me no closer to an answer.

Did no one care about the history of this phrase as much as me? Or, was I making its meaning more complicated than it needed to be?

I decided to focus on the latter. What did I think it meant?

IMPROVE THE TIME.

And here’s what I concluded…

How to “Improve the Time”

1. Make the most of the time you’re given

My first thought was quite literal: Improve the time you’re given in this life.

Practically speaking, this looks like not wasting time on things that aren’t life-giving. Things that don’t matter for eternity. It looks like focusing on the positive. Choosing optimism and hope.

No one is guaranteed tomorrow, so make today count.

2. Live your life with purpose

For me, living with purpose means living with zeal. My personal definition of zeal to live with a passionate and persistent pursuit of a purpose.

Whatever your God-given purpose might be, use it to make an impact. Leave a mark.

3. Add, don’t subtract

Because improvement quite literally means to make something better, let your life be one that adds value. The world is already so full of hate and evil that daily take away from the joy, peace, and love God wants us to experience.

As cliche as it sounds, I’m just going to say it. Don’t be part of the problem; be part of the solution.

4. Leave people better than you found them

Maybe this one goes without saying, but my point here is that it’s not about you. It’s not about me. Improving the time, at its core, is an act of unselfishness.

Even as you work to improve your own life, that growth can be used to help others. Bless those around you. Don’t keep it all to yourself.

The way I see it, improving the time is as much a command as it is a movement.

How will you improve the time today?

How can we improve the time together?