Read Acts 3:1-11
What Peter and John did is an amazing demonstration of pouring grace into someone else’s life and publicly declaring the glory of God. They did not miss the opportunity - this time. “This time” because there is a very similar statement made in both Acts 2:46 and 3:2. “Day by day” the disciples had been teaching and preaching in the temple, and daily this lame man had been begging at the gate of the temple. Daily the opportunity had been there, but somehow missed. It is easy to do – way too easy!
Justifiably, they were busy men. So much had happened in the past few months. 3000 had recently given their lives to Christ and more were joining The Way of Jesus every single day. With everything going on in their lives it was understandable that opportunities get missed. It is the challenge of being preoccupied. Our focus is absorbed in what has happened and is going to happen, where we are going and what we need to do when we get there. The problem is opportunities are always in the now. When our focus is anywhere but here, we miss another opportunity.
Sometimes “right now” is the challenge. The afternoon sacrifice began at 3:00pm. Being there on time was the godly thing to do. Worship was important. The clock? The calendar? The opportunity? All making demands of now! It is the challenge of being interrupted. It is hard choice to set aside what is good and right and concrete to seize the opportunity that just may result in wasting time. We don’t know. It truly takes a heart open to the Holy Spirit to see the opportunity in the interruption.
Besides, they didn’t have any money to give. Every resource was being poured into this new church. They could easily justify skipping this opportunity with having done enough in other ways. It is the challenge of justification. It is also the challenge of inadequacy. They didn’t have what he wanted or expected, but they had what he needed - Jesus! Philippians 4:19 states “And my God will meet all your needs according His glorious riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” They knew that those riches are most often distributed through their/our faithful attitude and actions (Acts 3:16).
There is another challenge we might face: the challenge of having – self-sufficiency. Because we have an extra dollar or an extra can of food, we give of our abundance, but not of ourselves. We meet the want, but miss the opportunity to meet their true need. James 2:15,16 and 1 John 3:17,18 tells us to do both! We need to use what we have to meet their practical needs in order to create an opportunity to address their deeper, eternal need for Christ’s love and truth.
Today will be filled with opportunities. Let’s not miss another one.
Making It Personal
The poet Horace coined the phrase “carpe diem” – seize the day. How is this reiterated in Galatians 6:10?
Which of these challenges tend to keep you from seeing and seizing the opportunity to go MAD: make a difference in someone’s life?
- - Challenge of being preoccupied?
- - Challenge of being interrupted?
- - Challenge of justification?
- - Challenge of inadequacies?
- - Challenge of self-sufficiency?
Take a moment and have an honest dialog with the Lord about this opportunity-missing tendency.
Peter told the lame man, “What I do have I give to you.” What has God entrusted to you to invest in the opportunities He makes available?
What are we told to do with the different things God has given you, according to 1 Peter 4:10,11?
Through the Day Challenge
Make an effort today to not miss another opportunity. Take note of those you saw (and seized) today that you might have otherwise missed.
