Is opportunity knocking? (Colossians 4:5)

Please note that I will be taking a week off from writing this blog.

SCRIPTURE: Colossians 4:5 (TM)

Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don't miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity.

STORY:

The Irish Potato Famine (1846-1851) resulted in a 30 percent drop in the population of the west of Ireland. The prolonged suffering of the Irish peasantry had broken the survivors in body and spirit.

John Bloomfield, the owner of Castle Caldwell in County Fermanagh, was working on the recovery of his estate when he noticed that the exteriors of his tenant farmers' small cottages had a vivid white finish. He was informed that there was a clay deposit on his property of unusually fine quality. To generate revenue and provide employment on his estate, he built a pottery at the village of Belleek in 1857. The unusually fine clay yielded a porcelain china that was translucent with a glass-like finish. It was worked into traditional Irish designs and was an immediate success.

Today, Belleek's delicate strength and its iridescent pearlized glaze is enthusiastically purchased the world over. This multimillion-dollar industry arose from innovative thinking during some very anxious times. 

OBSERVATION:

Opportunity only knocks once.

How often have we said: “Boy, I wish I had thought of that!” The problem is that we probably did, but didn’t follow through with the thought. It only knocks once.

This can be true in witnessing to the truth that is in us. Opportunities abound constantly around us to witness to that inner truth, but for one reason or another we just let them pass… and the opportunity never knocks again. Darn.

This, “oh, well, just leave it to another day” attitude is sad.  I’m glad that John Bloomfield didn’t ignore what he had noticed for my wife and I am privileged to have a couple of pieces of Belleek china in our home. Truly, they are exquisite and they are very beautiful.

Creating and collecting china is one thing, but when we miss the opportunity to share Christ … well, that is a different matter totally. Paul in his letter was encouraging his readers to take advantage of every opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Those opportunities might knock more than once, but why chance it.

The key in this is to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Those passing thoughts such as, “I should call so-and-so” or “I should pick up the phone call so-and-so” or “I really should write so-and-so” or “I should go out to lunch with so-and-so” or a thousand and one other little Holy Spirit promptings that come to us over the course of a week, should not be ignored.

Those thoughts are opportunity knocking. Pay attention. The Holy Spirit is trying to tell us something. A need might go unfulfilled and an opportunity to share the faith that claims us might be missed. We should “make the most of every opportunity.”

Here’s a thought: How often does someone say to us “have a good day” and all we say is “thank you”? Maybe we should think about a short response that would give God the glory. I don’t know what would work for you, but what I have been responding with is: “Every day that I’m alive and Jesus is still on his throne is a good day!” You would be surprised the kind of response I get back.

In other words, find some way to respond to the numerous opportunities that come our way every day… opportunity is knocking!

PRAYER:

May we take hold of every opportunity that comes our way. If we ignore any of those opportunities make us uncomfortable until we do.