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Colossians 4:5
5 Walk [peripateo] in [en] wisdom [sophia] toward [pros] them that are without, [exo] redeeming [exagorazo] the time. [kairos] KJV-Interlinear
5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. NASB
Conducting yourself within the environment of wisdom, Gods wisdom not the worlds wisdom, is mandated here.
Why?
It is not because God depends on you to bring the Gospel to people such that they can be saved.
It is not because God depends on you to help people grow in grace toward their own spiritual maturity.
After all, the world, if left to itself, would not have lasted very long in history, let alone for thousands of years.
God does not need you or anyone, to promote His plan. He does not depend on human means.
However, God does allow you to participate, or to demonstrate your reluctance to participate, in His plan.
Look around the world, nations are in debt up to their eyeballs. Suffering and difficulties exist everywhere, and are growing at an alarming rate.
Two things contribute to these circumstances. First there is Satan, the prince of evil, who knows that his time is drawing shorter and shorter with each passing day, and so he accelerates his evil in order to cause Gods failure.
And second, there are people and their lack of spiritual attributes. Combine these two things and you will find greater and greater suffering and hardship within the world. The second characteristic, the failure of people, is the most volatile characteristic of the two.
God has commanded people to pursue their spiritual lives. God has commanded people to support spiritual instruction. God has commanded people to pray with fervor, for clear and understandable and readily available instruction, and what is the response? Virtually none.
What is the alternative, when people fail? Then God sets a course that is certain to bring the gospel and His name before the world.
A long time ago, God birthed a person into this world, for this precise day in history. You have probably seen the coverage of the Michael Jackson funeral services. But did you think to consider the impact it might be having on the world?
With one single stroke, God took a prominent person and made His name (that of Christ), known all over the world. Perhaps thousands or even millions of people were introduced to Christ on this day, from the indirect event of Jackson’s death. Of all of his success, this single event, could very well have been Michaels greatest success, courtesy of Gods grace.
Our verse states, redeeming or making the most of the opportunity. That is our obligation to humanity. Life has a destiny, and life’s best destiny exists in heaven, not on this earth.
What people fail to do, even though they have many opportunities throughout their life, God can accomplish in a single day.
You do not get credit for that which you do not do. And even though you can never earn nor deserve anything, God gives us all ample opportunities to participate in His plan. However, most simply do not. And that is one of the biggest failures in life that anyone can have.
God provides you with means and opportunity, and you ignore it either through indifference, selfishness, or your own greed, laziness and unresponsiveness.
There are millions even billions of people who need God. You are in the forefront of His plan, right now, and you can do your part, if you choose, to participate in that world event, the greatest event in all of human history, that will affect the eternal future of vast numbers of folks.
The question is, ‘Will you?’
Or will you leave it all up to God and others, thus excluding this opportunity out of your ‘story’ and out of your eternal blessing package?
God has a plan for each of our individual lives. His plan is designed to glorify Christ. You can be proactive in your own plan, or indifferent. In either case, Gods plan will succeed, and you can participate in that success or not. That choice is, and has always been, and always will be, yours.
