October 3

Fleeting Opportunities

The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me. — Mark 14:7 BSB

We need to learn the value of opportunities. They don’t wait for our convenience, but while we hesitate, they’re gone. And once they’re gone, they don’t return. Jesus said that whatever was done for Him must be done right away because He wouldn’t always be with them. Delaying an act of love would mean missing the chance to do it altogether. They could always care for the poor, but their chance to show kindness to Jesus was limited.

There’s a profound lesson for us here. Some opportunities come only once. For example, a mother who has spent years giving her life in loving service to her children may now be old. As her children look at her, it’s as if she’s saying, “Whatever kindness you want to show me, do it now, for you won’t have me always.”

If we know a neighbor who is sick, now is the time to show love, because we may not have the chance later. There have been tears shed over coffins and graves by those who would give anything to have another chance to show the kindness they neglected when their loved ones were still alive. The best time to do a kindness is now. Someone beautifully said, “I expect to pass through this world but once. If, therefore, there is any kindness I can do for any fellow human being, let me do it now. Let me not delay or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”