This week I write with a caring and yet challenging heart. If you have been around the local church any length of time you have heard leaders present challenges to people as needs – like saying “we need you to sign up,” or “you are needed to serve on our team.” But the real issue is opportunity. What I mean is that we present as many opportunities for people in our church to use their gifts and talents, build relationships and connect to what we believe is a compelling vision. I can tell you that we have many great opportunities for each one of you and what you choose to do with them is entirely up to you. We pray, we invite, we bring and we include – that is our summons as a church. But we never force people to come, or to step up or to serve. Not long ago, I was in Starbucks and heard a woman inviting her friend to church with her. I was a bit excited by what I heard, after all, I love the local church and expanding the kingdom. But what I heard next was not someone seizing an opportunity but someone doing the work of a proselyte. You see, this person was already connected with a church, but was being pressured to leave her church to go to the church of the woman making the impassioned plea. While this person was spending so much time and energy attempting to pressure her friend to leave her church for this other place of worship, I began to think of all the people that had no church and may have welcomed a heart-felt invitation. These “opportunities” were being missed by this person because they came with one goal and agenda in mind. This story could easily fit many preconceived notions of what opportunity will look like for you. It may be that you set out to do one thing and in the process find another thing with a more compelling vision for you. Like a woman who stated; “I simply made myself available to this ministry team and then realized that two of the ladies on the team would become dear friends and sisters with whom I could open my life and encourage.” For this woman, it was in taking the opportunity to serve that she saw another opportunity to build relationships. One door opened another. We can all be honest and confess that we have missed opportunities. We have wasted relationships that could have been built, wasted years running from God and have missed opportunity after opportunity to grow closer to Jesus. Some have missed the opportunity to become the Christian man or woman that God wants them to be.The lesson for us is to treasure every moment; make the most of every moment and don’t miss your opportunities. I could list all the opportunities we have for you at our church and into our community and could remind you of all the opportunities you have with your family and friends. I could also list serving opportunities, sharing opportunities or educational opportunities, but what I will do instead is ask a couple of questions and share some scriptures:
- Today, have you missed opportunities with God? Did you spend some time with Him today? Did you take time to read His word and journal today?
- Are you making the most of the opportunities in front of you?
- Are you making the most of the relationships God has given you?
- What opportunities to be the heart, hands, feet and mouth of Jesus are right in front of me?
- Who can I be of help to in mentoring?
- Who needs me to be the answer to their prayer and the opportunity they are looking for?
God is calling on you and me to seize this moment and seize every opportunity we have to grow closer to God. If you have missed opportunities it is not too late to grab one now – change your heart and mindset and focus on what you believe God could be saying in regards to a relationship, open door, serving and giving opportunity and more. As you pray ask God to help you. Tell Him, now Lord, this very moment I want to seize my opportunities with you and for you and with others for you. I want to see what has prevented me from serving you like I should and I want to commit before you that I will not let anything stand in my way of seizing the moment and the opportunity for you. God and this church family that I am not going to let those things stand in the way again.
- Galatians 6:10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
- Ephesians 5:16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
- Colossians 4:5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.(all verses taken from NIV)
Look on the day-star moving Life and time are worth improving;
Seize the moments while they stray,
Seize and use them Lest ye lose them
And lament the wasted day.
Leading by following,
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