Making the most of every opportunity

Colossians 3:18-4 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. ¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. ²⁰ Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. ²¹ Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.

²² Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. ²³ Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. ²⁵ For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

4 Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.

² Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; ³ praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; ⁴ that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.

⁵ Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. ⁶ Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person…

¹⁶ When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea. ¹⁷ Say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”

¹⁸ I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you.

In today’s text Paul gives instruction concerning relationships, both family relationships and workplace relationships. To wives, Paul commands submission to their husbands; To husbands love for their wives; To children Paul commands obedience to their parents; To fathers that they not be too hard on their children. Each of these commandments stands on its own. They are not dependent on the other party upholding their end. Far too often our relationships are based on conditionally upholding our end only as others do theirs. We give back what we feel is deserved. Look at what Paul says when he addresses slave’s obedience to their masters:    Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.     That attitude should affect everything we do and every relationship we have. If we are believers, if we are followers of Christ, then everything we do should be as unto Him. We don’t love people because they deserve our love. Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.     Christ didn’t die for our sins because we deserved it, but rather as the demonstration of God’s love. That is the same way we are to love and relate to others, not in the way we think they deserve, but rather with unconditional, even sacrificial love.

Imagine how much stronger our families would be if this were the way we related to one another. Imagine how much more efficient and pleasant our workplaces would be if employees and employers held to this simple principle. Even in our self centered culture, our culture that encourages people to put themselves first, to stand up for their rights, there is a benefit for self in following Paul’s instruction. Paul points out that the additional motivation, the benefit to self is:   knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.     When we base our behavior on what we will get back from others we will almost always tip the scale in our own direction. When we base our behavior on what God has done for us, there is no way we can do and give enough. The truth is, even the good we do is of no eternal benefit to us, if we do it for the wrong reason. In Matthew 6:1-4 Jesus says:     “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.  “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you”       In Luke 14:12-14 He says:    “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment.  But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,  and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”    If what we will get in return, here and now is the motivation for what we do, then what we get here is all we get.  If we do all that we do as unto the Lord, then from the Lord we will receive an inheritance both now and eternally.

The text continues:  Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.  Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person        We should look at our interaction with people as opportunities. Everything we do, everything we say is an opportunity for us to reveal something to others. If we claim to be Christians, then everything we do and say is an opportunity to represent Christ. Are we using wisdom? Are we making the most of every opportunity?  God’s desire is for each person to come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Everything we do is an opportunity for us to join with Him. Jesus says:  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;  nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16) If our good works glorify the Father in heaven, what do our poor works, our missed opportunities do?  Paul says:   For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.     Thankfully, in Christ, we don’t get what we deserve, but to walk in the fullness of our inheritance, we should make the most of every opportunity.

Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it. -     Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,  knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. Grace be with you.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, thank You that You did not treat me as I deserved, but You loved me with an everlasting, unconditional love. You demonstrated that love by dying on the cross, even while I was a sinner. I desire to walk in the fullness of the inheritance You have given me. In all that I do, I desire to do it as unto You. Holy Spirit help me to make the most of every opportunity today and every day. In my family, in my workplace, everywhere I go and everyone I interact with, may I truly shine the light of Christ, for Your glory.   Amen