I don’t want my life to be a series of missed opportunities.

Have you ever stopped and taken inventory of all the people you pass on a daily basis, looking at them, but never really seeing them? Think about the teller at the bank who never makes eye contact, or the cashier at the grocery who is distracted and crabby. How about the young father who you see every morning dropping his kids off at school? He looks like he wants to strike up a conversation, but you just don’t have the time. What if you really looked at these people? What would you see?

“Once more he asked him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, ‘Lord, you know everything. You know I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Then feed my sheep.’”  John 21:17

How can we know what people are hungry for if we don’t take the time to find out their needs? What if you saw past their crankiness and sadness and really looked at the pain that they are experiencing? What if you sincerely inquired after that teller to see how she is doing and she finally smiled at the kindness in the request? And what if you asked that cashier if you could pray for her and you actually broke through that wall of anger in her life?

“Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.”  Ephesians 4:2

What if, just once, you took the time to sit down and talk to that young father and found that his wife recently passed away, and he just needed to talk to someone… anyone?

            “Take care of the orphans and the widows.” James 1:27

What if we just loved people as Christ asked us to?

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”  John 13:35

May we be instruments of love to a world that seems not so loveable, leading them to the One who sees and cares for all their needs. Let us keep our eyes and ears open so we will not miss those opportunities the Lord sets before us.