A new year lies before us with so many opportunities for us to glorify our God. We should rejoice that the Creator of the world could ever consider that our feeble actions could do anything to enhance His glory. When we consider the grandeur of heaven we have nothing to bring or nothing to give which could add to His majesty, but this is not the way He views it. How wonderful it is that He provides us with opportunities to magnify His divine nature.
Opportunities become challenges. They often appear only for a short time and unless we respond readily, that opportunity may never come again. Go to Gethsemane and see sleeping disciples missing the opportunity to watch and pray with the Lord. While they slept, Jesus was in agony needing their support. That opportunity passed for they had failed to meet the challenge.
The parable of the five foolish virgins found in Matthew chapter 25 has the same message. When the midnight cry came announcing the arrival of the bridegroom, there was just the one opportunity for the virgins to honor his arrival. When they made a second attempt to honor him, the door was shut and the Lord said to them, “I do not know you.” Throughout this year there will be passing opportunities for us to glorify God. In just two weeks God will be glorified when we send a third missionary to Paraguay. The week after that God will be glorified by our Mission Sunday contribution. In March He will be glorified by our Gospel Meeting with Tommy Haynes preaching and by our tireless efforts to get our friends to come and hear. The next month He will be exalted by the annual Ladies’ Day with Roberta Edwards. Later in the year He will honored by the two super Sundays. Don’t forget about the Wednesday night summer series, the Spiritual Enrichment Weekend and the South Florida Lectureship.
The point we are trying to make is this. Opportunities come but they often do not stay! They are tied to times and dates and each of them presents a challenge to us to seize the opportunity. How tragic it is that while we spend time doing important things we miss those which are truly important!
So throughout this year be aware of those opportunities and the challenges which accompany them. It was tragic the five foolish virgins were not prepared. It was tragic that the disciples slept when He prayed and needed them the most. How much more tragic it will be if we fail to meet the challenges He provides for us in 2010!