Opportunities in My Moments
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17). This is Paul’s admission that every moment of our lives is an opportunity for good. The words “whatever” and “all” are the words that indicate this. He is reminding his readers that they need to be aware of every moment or every day and what they can do in those moments.
The text begins with Paul reminding his readers who they are. They are the “elect of God.” They had answered the call of God and had become elect (Romans 8:30, 33). They have chosen to be God’s special people. Therefore, he was writing to remind them how the elect should approach every moment of their lives.
He tells them, first, about the attitudes they should have with them in each of those moments, “tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering” (verse 12). It is these attitudes that will guide them. Then, he reminds them how they should act in each of those moments “bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another” (verse 13). Finally, he told them who they must be. They must be people who love, people who are peaceful, and people who allow the word of the Christ to dwell in them (verses 14-16).
Let us now think about the moments of our lives. We will encounter moments when we will need to be merciful to the people in our lives. We will always need to be kind. Our moments will always call for us to be humble while maintaining a strength under control—meekness. All of our moments will compound into our need to be longsuffering as we endure difficulties and wait for rewards.
The moments of our lives will be filled with encounters with people. These encounters will demand that we forbear and forgive. By doing this, we will create moments to share the forgiveness and forbearance of God with people who need it. The only way for us to do this is to bring to those moments the love and peace of God that is founded upon the word of Christ that resides our hearts.
Every moment of our lives is a moment to share our spiritual nature with people. In every moment of our lives, we will affect people for better or for worse in their view of God and of God’s people. When we begin to see each moment of our lives as an opportunity that will never come again, we will be more open to and invested in those moments.
— Mike Johnson
