Walking in wisdom

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. (Colossians 4:5-6)

Being wise. Or as the ESV puts it, “walking in wisdom.” Making the most of every opportunity.

How many opportunities do we miss to share the gospel because we aren’t looking for it. Are we making the most of every opportunity?

I had a unique opportunity with my daughter Yumi the other night.

She’s six, and my wife and I have been sharing the gospel with her for years, reading Bible stories to her and praying with her almost every night. She also has gone to Sunday school for the last three years.

But every time I shared the gospel it seemed that though she kind of understood, she wasn’t quite ready to become a Christian.

And then a couple nights ago, she talked about how her Sunday school teacher had told her that Jesus was in our hearts, and she seemed happy about that idea.

I’m not sure if that’s exactly what her Sunday school teacher said. I’d hope her teacher didn’t give such a blanket statement

At any rate, I asked Yumi, “Really? Have you asked Jesus to come into your heart?”

At which she stopped short, and said, “Um, no.”

And so I told her that Jesus only comes into our hearts if we ask him. I then talked to her about the gospel again, and for the first time really had her attention from start to finish. And that night she prayed to receive Jesus.

I’ve been praying for Yumi for some time, and always shared the gospel with her at every opportunity, so when the time came, I was ready for it. But I wonder how many other opportunities I miss because I’m not ready for them.

How many opportunities do I miss because I am not wise in the way I act with outsiders?

How many opportunities do I miss because day to day, my conversation is not full of grace, but of complaining or criticism?

How many opportunities do I miss because my speech is not “seasoned” with salt, full of flavor, a bit of sting at times (for the gospel can sting the unbeliever’s conscience), but full of God’s love each day?

I don’t want to miss those opportunities. How about you?

Our time on earth is short. Are you making the most of your opportunities?