Opportunities
Scripture Reading — Colossians 4:2-6
Be wise in the way you act ... ; make the most of every opportunity. Colossians 4:5
Do you remember Ashley Smith? One day in March 2005 she came home to find a fleeing murderer waiting for her. He held her hostage for several hours at gunpoint. During that time she did something extraordinary; she took advantage of the opportunity and witnessed to her captor. She cooked him breakfast, read from Rick Warren's book The Purpose-Driven Life, and talked about God's plan for his life and about Christ. Later the man peacefully gave himself up to the police.
Our text for today reminds us, "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity." God often presents us with opportunities to witness, but we often let them slip by because we're not wise enough to see them for what they are.
The apostle Paul says we are "God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). God often places good works before us in the form of opportunities to share our faith with people who are outside the faith. But we need to be wise and willing enough to make the most of those opportunities.
As this year draws to a close and we enter a new year, we need to remember that each new day brings opportunities to serve the Lord and express our faith to others, sometimes in strange and different situations.
Lord, we have often let many opportunities pass by. Give us the wisdom, we pray, to see each opportunity you place before us to do your will and share our faith. In Jesus, Amen.
About the author — Joel Sheeres
Rev. Joel Sheeres is the pastor at First Christian Reformed Church in Crown Point, Indiana. He and his wife, Christine, have three children. Pastor Sheeres has previously served at Faith Christian Reformed Church in Elmhurst, Illinois.
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