Now is the time! God can use us to seize opportunities all around
By Dean Collins
Eugene Peterson got me thinking today about squandering. To squander is to lose an advantage, to waste an opportunity, or to act foolishly with a resource you have been given. Squander is a bit of an old-fashioned word and would be a great word in Scrabble! I can’t remember the last time I used it, but Eugene Peterson’s use of the word in his translation of 2 Corinthians 6:1 jumped off the page. See how Peterson’s The Message renders Paul’s advice to his partners in ministry:
“Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us.”
How many times during the day do we get busy on a project or wrapped up in solving a problem and miss an opportunity to experience the marvelous life God has given us? And maybe worse, miss the opportunity to share what God has given with someone else!
Paul reminds us to consider the many times we have prayed and just in the nick of time God answered. He didn’t answer in advance, he didn't answer too late, but right at the moment we needed him, he was there. I will confess there are many times I have wondered if he would show up this time or even complained that God didn’t seem to get my urgency, but in the right moment and because of his wonderful grace and love, God came through again.
When we consider that God acts at just the right time, it should make us consider when is the right time for us to join God in his ministry of helping others. It seems the answer is pretty obvious; now is the time. Peterson translates this passage this way:
“Now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don’t put it off; don’t frustrate God’s work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we’re doing. Our work as God’s servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post…”
I often get so focused on trying to solve a problem that I forget God likely placed someone right nearby that he wants me to partner with in solving the problem. And he wants to do it for my sake and for their sake. Together we might learn just how powerfully God wants to help, but first we must agree that God is at work in both of us—and not just for our benefit but for the benefit of others as well.
Consider how Paul says we should be working;
In hard times, tough times, bad times;
When we’re beaten up, jailed, and mobbed;
Working hard, working late, working without eating;
With pure heart, clear head, steady hand;
In gentleness, holiness, and honest love;
When we’re telling the truth, and when God’s showing his power;
When we’re doing our best to set things right;
When we’re praised and when we’re blamed;
Slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted;
Ignored by the world, but recognized by God;
Terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead;
Beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die;
Immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy;
Living on handouts, yet enriching many;
Having nothing, and having it all.
Paul was certainly describing his experiences as he shared the gospel and established churches in many cities. Could it be that Paul’s words to Corinth might be the very words we need today and just in the nick of time?
I don’t know about you, but I need reminding that God is always working and that he wants us to join him in his great work. We are partnered with God, whether at the office, at home with the kids, when serving on the church or city committee, and all along the way. And as Christ-followers who are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will see most of the difficulties Paul described in his long list referenced above.
When we partner with God in serving the communities where we live and are therefore called to serve, we are invited to join God in what he is doing. His ways are bigger and better than our ways. Peterson ends his translation of Chapter 6 with these words:
“The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!”
You might feel your job is small and your work is meaningless. According to God’s Word, that simply isn’t true! God’s love for us and through us is always expanding. Let’s commit to living expansively and showering the people around us with the love God has lavished on us!
Your time with God’s Word
2 Corinthians 6:1-13 MSG
Photo by MART PRODUCTION at Pexels.com.
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