Imagine a day like any other. You sit down at your desk, ready to put in a productive eight to ten hours, and clear your throat only to find that annoying tickle just won't go away. Coffee doesn't seem to cut it, so you head to the water cooler.
After a refreshing gulp, you run into Suzy Q from accounting. She looks tired. Her eyes are red and puffy. If you weren't so sure, you'd swear she's been crying. You share a generic greeting and ask how she's been. The response is not good. She confesses sleepless nights and a general discontentment with life. Her eyes say it all.
Suddenly you're faced with an opportunity to share the gospel, fantastic right? Except, you're at work. The person standing here seems to be interested. She's all but begged you for the truth, or maybe you're just being over zealous. We all get carried away sometimes, right? Besides, you're at work. Certainly that would be considered politically incorrect, and maybe your boss wouldn't look upon it too kindly. Isn't God really the boss anyway? If you're a Christian out in the work force, this situation is inevitable.
There was a man, Shaun, I worked with in an engineering lab a few years ago. A Chinese native and something of a black sheep around the office, he was often the subject of wayward gossip. Even I had to admit he was a bit rough around the edges, but I was always nice. I'd like to say this was because I was trying to live up to the 'do unto others' standard set by our Lord, but the reality is I didn't think about it much.One morning, the rhythmic hum of the copy machine was overlaid with a harmony of heavy footsteps and jingling change. I looked up and caught Shaun's silhouette in the window.
“Good morning, Shaun,” I said, blinking the sun from my eyes.He stopped in his tracks, which was somewhat unusual. “Good morning,” he replied in a thick accent, grinning from ear to ear, which was even further out of the ordinary . He tipped his head to the left inquisitively.
“Why are you so happy, Heather?” he asked.Truth be told, I had no idea what he'd just said, his accent was thick after all, and the question had taken me somewhat off guard. “I'm sorry, what did you say?” I replied, my mind still half involved in an upcoming meeting.
“You know – happy.” He followed with an over exaggerated grin and turned his index fingers toward his now ominous teeth. “Why are you always so happy?”“I don't know,” I replied, “I just am, I guess.” Meanwhile, my fingers gently turned the silver cross around my neck.
“Oh. I see.” he answered, then turned and headed back toward the lab.“Wait – it's Jesus!” My brain cried out, unfortunately my lips didn't follow suit. My feet felt like two cement blocks. What just happened here? The door of opportunity had opened, and I had not walked through. Instead, I stood there dumbfounded as it closed in my face.
I thought about following him, but decided against it. My meeting would start in a few minutes, and our boss was a stickler for punctuality. There will be time later. Maybe, I'll catch him after lunch, I thought. Lunch hour went by, then evening came and Shaun was no where to be found. The next morning, our boss revealed what had happened. Shaun was a victim of corporate downsizing.The rest of the meeting was rather dull, as always. I tried to stay focused, but my mind drifted back to my morning devotion. It had become a habit to start out my workday with a moment in my parked car thumbing through the scriptures before heading into the office. I selected a scripture to turn over in my mind periodically throughout the day. I would follow up with a moment of prayer that generally went something like this, “Lord, give me strength to get through this day with a good attitude, and to do my work to the best of my ability. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.”
Of course I was thinking about my work, the reports that needed to be written, the presentations to be prepared, and the never ending tests that needed to be performed. Little did I know, God had something bigger in mind. While I was busy praying that my tests would go off without a hitch, God was about to change my perspective into one with eternal value. That morning's scripture was written by Paul in Colossians 4:5-6 (NIV), ... 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.
If only I had Paul's wisdom a day earlier, would it have made a difference? I don't know, but the next time I'm going to be ready. I'd like to say I tracked Shaun down and proclaimed the truth of the gospel, but I never spoke with him about it again. Sure I prayed for another opportunity, but that was not meant to be. Now I pray that God will present that opportunity to someone bold enough to take advantage of it, and that I may have another chance to prove I am capable of the same.
Faith in Jesus Christ is what makes me happy, and faith comes through hearing the message (see Romans 10:17). That person pecking away at the keyboard next to you may be the one whose eternity is waiting to be transformed by the good news today. Don't be afraid to open your mouth and walk through the door of opportunity when it presents itself. You'll be glad you did.