Make the most...

I love a good sale!  My shopping motto has always been “four letter words are best…SALE”!

I grew up in the era of SH Green Stamps.  As kids we would lick them and then put them in the squares of the SH booklet.  Once the booklets were filled and we had enough for what we wanted, it was off to the S&H Store to redeem the stamps for product.  We would walk into the store wide eyed with possibilities and the motivation to save and redeem!!

Every day we are given redemptive opportunities with those who are hurting, bound by addictions and life style choices or just weary of doing-life-my-way.  Life has become burdensome and hard.

   

You are probably saying, “What does that have to do with a sale?”  Glad you asked!   This is the thought behind make the most in Ephesians 5:15 and Col 4:5-6.

So be careful how you live.  Don’t live like fools but like those who are wise.  Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.  Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

Eph 5:15-17

Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

Col 4:5-6

In the Greek “make the most” is Exagorazo which means ‘to redeem by payment of a price to recover from the power of another, to ransom, buy off (i.e., metaph. of Christ freeing us from the power of the Mosaic Law and power of Satan at the price of his vicarious death).  It also means to buy up for one's use to make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good, so that zeal and well doing are as it were the purchase money by which we make the time our own.’

With that in mind for those who call themselves followers of Jesus, it is time to 'make the most' in:

• redeeming all the head knowledge learned through the years about  grace and mercy
• giving the gift of grace and mercy to those around us no matter their circumstances
• living wisely as skilled craftsman (from practice) through our actions and speech among those who are hurting  

In making the most of every opportunity our actions can become a catalyst pointing others to Christ to experience peace, freedom and recovery from the power of addictions and hurts. 

So how about it, want to go redemptive shopping?