Every Opportunity

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

 EVERY OPPORTUNITY

Eph 5:15-20

15 Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV

Life is not just floating away on the sea of chance, but it requires thoughtful contemplation, with the sails catching just the right breeze and the rubber set to the course that has been laid in for us by the Lord. Our lives were not designed to be lived footloose and fancy-free, although that sounds attractive on some level. However, we are told here to be very careful about how we live. We should be careful to live wisely, which is making the most of every opportunity. We know that if we were to walk into a business and person or salesperson would be on their toes, sharp and attentive to the customer making every opportunity to make a sale. Where I work part-time, we are always prompted to exhibit smart customer service, with the word smart being an acrostic starting with Seek out the customer. We are to be a dynamic sales associate looking to meet the customers’ needs. As a believer in Jesus Christ, living wisely, we live dynamically for Jesus, seeking out those who are in need of His salvation. We cannot afford to live according to our own path, for that would be foolish. Instead, we must walk in step with the Spirit as He calls out the cadence. This is not just about living as a Christian based on rules and regulations, with all the do’s and don’ts that have played such a large part in the life of the church. This is about living within the will of God, which is more than trying to live righteously, but encompasses every aspect of our lives. The Spirit leads us into all truth, and of course, that is only found in the scriptures, but to walk in step with the Spirit must always include His leading us to where we live, what city, neighborhood, and yes even the very street number. Living within the will of God is more than doing good, and avoiding the bad, it is following the path that is lit up by the light of Christ. We are given one example of living unwisely, and examples of living wisely. We will need to get into the details of those examples, but for now, we should be content to understand just what the will of God is for our lives and make the most of every opportunity to live as followers of Jesus.