"Make the most of every opportunity." I used to believe that this phrase only referenced sharing the gospel message. Whenever an occasion opens up to speak a word for Christ, we need to seize it and not let the window of time pass by without declaring our faith. This is right and good, but I have come to realize this verse means more than verbally telling others about Jesus.
What about when we are feeling exasperated with the service man at our house who seems to be giving us the run around? Is patience evidenced? When someone hurts our feelings, how quickly do we offer forgiveness? When an appointment is running late, do we extend grace? If the car driving in front of us is going slower than we'd like, how are we responding? Are our words with the solicitor too abrupt, bordering on cruel? Do we consider how others see Christ in us at these moments? Are we making the most of these God-given opportunities?
Throughout our day we have countless encounters that provide ways for us to demonstrate that having Christ living in us makes a difference, but does anyone see Him by our reactions? Paul writes about having "the right response for everyone". That's not talking about having a wise answer and being so knowledgeable that we can intelligently reply in every conversation. The "right response" is the one God would have us give, and at times it could even mean silence.
Our conduct as believers is a powerful evangelizing tool. Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:12, "Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbours. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honourable behaviour, and they will give honour to God when He judges the world." Too often we give our unbelieving friends ammunition against Jesus. Often the choices we make reflect so poorly on the Christ we claim to follow that we harm any possibility we might have to testify to the truth of God's word.
In every situation we are to practically live out the gospel message in a way that attracts others to our Saviour. Is our conduct favourable and appealing to the world? We need to be so aware of what we say and how we say it. Our tongues can turn others away from ever listening to anything we have to say in the future. The unsaved are looking at our lives and they are quick to criticize, yet we make it so easy for them to find fault when we allow frustration, anger and impatience to characterize our interactions with others.
Our entire lives are one big opportunity to be ambassadors for Christ. How often, even today, have we wounded His reputation? We need to seriously evaluate every word we say, every activity we participate in, every rolled eye, every tone, all aspects of our day-to-day happenings to determine how each action affects our witness for Christ. Are we making it more difficult for someone to one day hear us share the gospel with them? Does our speech betray our testimony? In anger do we speak our mind without minding what we say? When we react rashly, we are ruining opportunities to let others see Jesus in us. We must give careful consideration of the possible consequences to our impulsivity.
"Each day, we are to yield ourselves fully to Jesus, so that we may live wisely and respond graciously to others about the One who gives us the assurance of eternal life." - David C. McCasland
"Oh, make me, Lord, so much like Thee, My life controlled by power divine,
That I a shining light may be, From which Thy grace may ever shine." - Robertson
"A Christlike life can be a message of hope to a searching world."
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