Someone said to me recently, “the days drag by and the years fly by.” Oh, how true! I was thinking recently about three great vacations I’ve had in my lifetime. The first was a cross country trip with my brother and his two girls and my youngest son. We traveled from California to Pennsylvania in a small motorhome. It wasn’t a straight trip, it was ten days lazily traveling up through Wyoming to the Canadian Border states, and down through Indiana, Illinois, Ohio (the Football Hall of Fame!) and into Pennsylvania. It was a great time.
It was also more than three decades ago, thus I can understand David’s lament. “Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.” [Ps 39:4]
Earthly life is fleeting, whether it be 20 years or 120 years. Especially when we consider our earthly years in light of eternity. We only have a few and we need to make sure we seize every opportunity to be the kind of people God expects of us.
Three times in the New Testament, Paul urged his readers to seize the opportunities presented to them, Galatians 6:10, Ephesians 5:16 and my favorite, Colossians 4:5-6. “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
When we allow Jesus to shine through us, we will have opportunities. People will ask, “how can you be so …” when they see our responses in trials, troubles, fears, and difficulties. And when they do ask, we need to make sure our responses are grounded in godly wisdom, grace and truth.
