A Season Of Opportunity

Titus 2:11-14

We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God. (Titus 2:12)

EARLY IN THE SPANISH CONQUEST of the New World, the people of the Caribbean were inquisitive and open to the gospel. Many, in fact, believed—until the conquerors behaved “like ravening beasts, killing, terrorizing, afflicting, torturing, and destroying the native peoples, doing all this with the strangest and most varied new methods of cruelty, never seen or heard of before.”^a The report of Bartolomé de las Casas estimated that a population of about three million was reduced to just two hundred through violence and disease. The “angels” who descended on the islands—how the natives first perceived the Spaniards—were not angelic at all, and the gospel got lost in the devastation.

That is an extreme case of how people who claim to be Christian can taint the Christian message. The example is hardly typical, but it does illustrate two important truths: (1) Christians have a remarkable opportunity to demonstrate the character of God to people who do not know him; and (2) a false representation of God’s character makes future attempts at portraying him accurately more difficult. The familiar saying, “You never have a second chance to make a first impression” applies to God and his people too. God can overcome any obstacle, and his Spirit can change any heart, but how we first represent him to others makes a difference.

We are not responsible for the squandered opportunities of past generations. Neither are we responsible for everyone today who claims to represent Christ. But we are responsible for the opportunities in front of us in this generation—not only to take advantage of them ourselves, but to encourage other believers to do so too. Ultimately, the responsibility for changed hearts is on the Spirit of God, who alone can draw human beings to Jesus. But to the degree that we let him change us, we become his illustrations, a divine sampling of grace to a world that needs it.

{Holy Spirit, I will always be an imperfect case study in the power of your grace. But let me be a fruitful one. Let many see your power in me. Amen.