No Greater Opportunity ~ Ephesians 5:15-20 ~ Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost ~ August 19, 2012

One of the greatest things my parents ever did for me was encouraging me to take advantage of great opportunities whenever they came along...  When I was a teenager, I thought I knew everything.  I thought I knew what was good for me and what was not.  I know now that I wasn’t always as right as I thought I was...

When I was fifteen, I had the opportunity to join the high school marching band. 

Yes, I loved music, but I wasn’t too keen on the idea of spending August on an asphalt practice field in the summer heat...  I was no fan of uniforms and formation marching.  And I really wasn’t excited about selling band hoagies door-to-door.  In my mind, this was an opportunity to avoid.

But my parents pushed me, in spite of my objections—and for good reasons.  Extra-curricular activities look good on college admission applications.  I’d make new friends.  I’d have fun.

And though I dreaded band camp all summer long, my decision to join the band was the best decision of my teenage years.  I can look back on my high school years and call them good—because I seized that opportunity.  That decision made all the difference.

Whether we realize it or not, our days are full of opportunities to do good and better ourselves. 

We have opportunities to practice random acts of kindness.

There are opportunities enjoy the blessings in our lives.

There are opportunities to work hard and achieve something positive.

Occasionally, the so-called “once-in-a-lifetime opportunities” come our way—and we agonize over the pros and cons of seizing the opportunity, knowing that our decision will forever impact the course of our lives.  

Now as Christians, our lives are full of opportunities to receive God’s gifts through faith—and these opportunities will forever change our lives and the way we live them... 

We have the opportunity to be baptized—where we are washed clean of our sin and filled with the everlasting life of Jesus Christ. 

Another opportunity we have is to own a copy of God’s Holy Scriptures, where we learn his will for our lives; where we witness his gracious love being poured out for all the world upon the cross.

Prayer is the opportunity to bring our hurts and our needs before God—knowing that our prayers will be heard.

The Church is an opportunity to grow in our faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ.  It’s our opportunity to give and receive his love in the relationships we have with our fellow believers—and with the people whom God calls us to serve.

We have the opportunity to eat and drink of the body and blood of Jesus Christ and live forever.

But do we always take advantage of these opportunities?  Or do we take them for granted?  Are there other opportunities in our lives that we are more eager to seize?

One of the biggest challenges of the faith is that the opportunities that come from God can so often seem insignificant and unexciting, especially compared when compared with the opportunities that exist elsewhere in our lives. 

Just consider this: at Holy Communion, we receive a small morsel of bread and wine.  Is it easy to believe that you will receive saving grace through so little food and drink?  Is it east to believe that receiving this gift (week after week) will make any difference in our lives?

Sometimes, the opportunities God gives us will seem as though they will yield nothing of any real value to us and to our current situation in life.  Prayers don’t always get answered.  Good deeds don’t always make a difference or make us feel good.  We may come to worship hoping to be filled with the peace of Christ, but worry and anxiety burden our minds the whole time and we can’t concentrate. 

But we cannot allow disappointment to drive us away from the Savior who promises to always be with us and deliver us from the trials and temptations of life.

Jesus says, “If we eat of his flesh and drink of his blood, we will live forever.”  This is our opportunity to participate in Jesus Christ; to be a part of the salvation he brings to the world.  It’s opportunity to receive saving grace, not just once, but every day, as long as we live, because Jesus Christ promises to come to us.

And as hard as it may be to believe sometimes, every opportunity we seize to participate in Christ will bear fruit for our lives and our relationship with God.  Our faith will be strengthened; our troubled hearts will receive peace; our lives will be transformed.  We will see that the opportunity to participate in Christ is greater than any other opportunity the world has to offer.

Today we are called to a godly wisdom—to take advantage of every opportunity we are given to participate in the life of Jesus Christ, regardless of how seemingly great or small the opportunity may be.  The opportunity before you is to be swept up in saving grace. 

But no opportunity lasts forever.  The days are full of evil—and tomorrow is never guaranteed. And a life lived apart from Jesus Christ leads only to death.

So don’t look to the world or to your own ideals for the life your souls crave.  And don’t underestimate the amazing things that God can do in your life, through a little bit of prayer; a little bit of thanksgiving; a little bit of sharing; or a couple of hours of your Sunday. 

This is the opportunity of a lifetime; an eternal lifetime!  So seize the opportunity to live in Christ; let his life and his salvation seize your life, and never be the same again.