Of all the things I do, participating in and leading (in that order) our mid-week worship is among my favorites. I treasure the time spent with our people. Tonight, we focused on the word "opportunity." Admittedly, it is a much used word. It can become rather trite. We considered the opportunities that come our way in our secular lives. We also considered the opportunities that come our way in our faith lives. Opportunities to grow, learn, fellowship, love, serve, minister, and be formed abound. Jesus Himself presented folks with opportunities. He said, "throw down your nets and follow me" to a couple of fishermen who became disciples. He said, "Zaccheus, come down out of that tree. I'm going home with you", to an unsuspecting tax collector. Jesus was always presenting people with opportunity. Jesus presents us with opportunity still today.
We also considered missed opportunities.
I met him a couple of weeks ago as I was leading a bible study at No Longer Bound. NLB is a ministry and program for male addicts located in Cumming, Georgia. It is an extensive, intense 10 month program. They do incredible work. He said, "I went to church when I was a kid. I was so excited at first. The church bus would come around and pick us up. The driver always had some little treats for us. After awhile, however, I became more afraid than excited. You see, I'm a bit of a rounder. You might have guessed that, considering where I am now. I started to be afraid of breaking something or scratching the pews. I was afraid of breaking the rules. I was afraid they wouldn't let me get on the bus anymore. One day in Sunday School, a big woman wagged her finger in my face and told me I was trouble. I'm sure I deserved it. She told me that if I couldn't behave that I should never come back. I was so afraid of her...I never did go back. So, I just started moving toward people who didn't wag their finger in my face and who accepted me no matter what I did."
He went on to tell more of the story. I wasn't listening. I couldn't help but wonder how different his life may have been if only she hadn't wagged her finger in his face. She had an opportunity to be the presence of Christ in this boy's life...and she missed it...and he went away...and his life spun out of control. I don't mean to suggest that if we miss opportunities to share the love of Christ with someone that their life will be ruined. But...
Opportunities. Let's take advantage of them. More than that, let's not miss them. Most of all, let's not do any finger wagging.
1 comment:
This so reminds me of the book of Esther. Mordecai says to Esther when he has just presented her with an "opportunity" that might mean the difference between life and death for her... "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this..." Perhaps "opportunity" can also be translated to "royal position." In both of those "terms", we must be listening to the Holy Spirit and rising to the occasion when He presents them to us...
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