Life is made up of moments.
Most people have heard of the concept of “living like you’re dying” or “carpe diem–seize the day.” The truth is though, that most people functionally don’t live this way. We take people, places, and things for granted
all
the
time.
We don’t stop to “smell the roses.” We spend more time formulating what we are going to say next than really listening. We are comfortable not to confront issues until they become a cancerous bitter root inside of us because we want to avoid conflict at all costs. When someone asks for money our first reaction is to clutch our wallet. Someone’s car is broke down on the side of the road but we are in a hurry. We have a chance to speak up for the voiceless yet we are silent. The list is unending.
Every moment is an opportunity.
Colossians 4:2-6 says, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 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."
Make the most of every opportunity.
I let so many opportunities slip through my fingers by choice.
But this week God gave me the strength to snatch a moment and let God do something holy with it…three times over.
Tuesday, my team went to Bangla. Halfway we stopped at a bar to visit with a girl we saw earlier. She was with a guy from Finland. She called him her boyfriend, although this is usually a lie they tell the girls they buy.
Then a series of moments, opportunities if you will, flashed before my eyes.
I started small talking with this guy. We chatted Finland, America, what we’re doing here. He asked if I’d ever come back to Thailand.
I said, “Maybe. There are a lot of needs here.”
He responds, “Yea a lot of people need to learn English.”
I reply, “Actually, the women…they really need help.”
Then there it was–a moment—a choice between doing what is easy and seizing the opportunity to share some good news with this man.
“We are Christians. Have you heard of Jesus?”
“Yes, I guess I have.”
“Well man, Jesus really loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. Did you know that?”
“No I did not know. But now I do because you tell me.”
“Yes he really does and you can talk to him anytime, anywhere and he will hear you.”
“He will hear me?”
“Yea, I had no hope before I met Jesus. Now I have hope. This world needs that hope. You should try praying tonight and when you get back to Finland you should try going to a Christian church.”
“Yes I think I will.”
“It was really good meeting you, man”
“It was really good meeting you too.”
———Exchange pats on the back
Moment over.
Opportunity seized.
Easter Sunday. I invited Pam two weeks ago to come to church with me. She has never been to a church. She comes. We go to one that meets in a gazebo by the beach in Patong. First part of the service the pastor says, “Now we play game called ‘you find the eggs.’” ——–we all laugh under our breath at the Thai version of the infamous Easter egg hunt. Then we read John 20 about how Jesus defeated death, proving he was God. We sang songs in Thai: some familiar, others not. We ate bread and drank juice to remember Jesus. We prayed a lot.
And Pam experienced the Church for the first time with her “farong” friends.
It took love and one question.
Moment over.
Opportunity seized.
Easter night. An Asian invasion happened Friday, and now there are over twenty 17-year-old students from Singapore taking over House 2. No one has ventured over yet to scope it out. Sharon and I had just got back from “Mackro” (the Thai version of Sam’s Club) and I was headed over to put my Jiff Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter away.
Then there it was…a moment. A choice between doing what is easy and seizing the opportunity to interact.
Two and a half hours later, I am coming off of an adrenaline buzz because I have just experienced one the highlights of my time in Thailand. Student after student came and went from that kitchen floor, asking questions about me, about trafficking, about the ministry we work with. I asked about Singapore, their families, their school, their government, their dreams, their beliefs.
At one point I sat in the circle with a Buddhist, a Catholic, a Christian, and an Agnostic talking about the Gospel—about the question “How good is good enough?” and how Jesus is different because he claimed to be God and how Christianity is different because we could never be ‘good people’ so God came down to us. About how Jesus either is who he said he was or he was a crazy man or a liar—he couldn’t have been “just a prophet” because he never claimed to be. We talked about evolution and how we don’t have to choose between science and God.
They shared their hearts with me that the standard in Singapore is perfection. An “A” is not good enough unless it’s a 100%. Because you have to get into the best school so you can get the best job so you can make the most money and achieve “the 5 C’s: Car, Condo, Credit Card, Country Club, & Cash.”
They talked about how their parent’s generation is so steeped in this tradition and how they are being molded into this particular set of thinking. How they don’t agree with it, but how things like this can’t be changed easily. That life would be much easier if they just buckled down, went with the flow, and got good grades.
The rest of the time I answered question after question about the 27 million slaves worldwide, organizations that are fighting to free them in Jesus’ name like International Justice Mission, Rapha House, and Unearthed. We talked about pornography, after care, prostitution, and partying.
I probably got to talk about the hope of Jesus 15 times.
Moment over.
Opportunity seized.
Who would have thought that I would get to do youth ministry with kids from Singapore in Thailand on Easter 2012?
Life is made up of moments. How will we spend them?
