After almost 45 years as a follower of Christ and 20 years of vocational ministry, I think I’m beginning to understand our Lord’s Economy of Opportunity. Across those years and across several continents I have seen hundreds if not thousands of ministries which are “needs driven.” Those who lead the ministries, either a part of local churches or parachurch ministries, identify the “felt needs” of a particular community, then seek to meet them as a means of expressing the love of Christ Jesus or as an avenue to sharing the Gospel. Noble goals both. However, such a focus on needs can occasionally obscure the recognition of genuine opportunity the significant impact which comes along with it.
Jesus was very familiar with the needs of people and dealt properly with them daily. He also seemed to value opportunity even more highly. Please read the following passage and listen for the moment when opportunity trumps need.
John 12 (The Message)
Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus, so recently raised from the dead, was living. Lazarus and his sisters invited Jesus to dinner at their home. Martha served. Lazarus was one of those sitting at the table with them. Mary came in with a jar of very expensive aromatic oils, anointed and massaged Jesus' feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance of the oils filled the house.
Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, even then getting ready to betray him, said, "Why wasn't this oil sold and the money given to the poor? It would have easily brought three hundred silver pieces." He said this not because he cared two cents about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of their common funds, but also embezzled them.
Jesus said, "Let her alone. She's anticipating and honoring the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you. You don't always have me."
Did you hear it? “You always have the poor with you. You don't always have me." It is always the right thing to care for the needs of the poor, we always have them. We do not always have the remarkable presence of Christ at a particular moment of greatest impact. This is opportunity and this is why it outweighs need in the Lord’s economy. Bethany was certainly well populated with poor people and I’m sure Lazarus, Mary and Martha were generous toward them, but they were not Mary’s focus on this day. She anticipated Jesus’ death and burial and was ready with an extravagant gift of love and respect.
For us who serve the men and women of sport, there are every day, regular even mundane tasks of ministry. There are constant needs for those whom we serve. It’s always right to meet those needs. However, there are occasional, even rare moments when opportunity makes its presence known. Sometimes our moments of opportunity come to us in crisis, as it did for Mary. We would do well to follow her lead and to recognize the opportunity, to marshal the resources, to prioritize the time, to risk being misunderstood and to extravagantly express love and respect.
When our ministries are driven by needs we can easily become consumed by the need, the needy and the constant urgency to meet the daily needs. Sadly some of the most compassionate and gifted leaders and servants in Christ’s kingdom become overwhelmed by the needs and have their hearts numbed by the constant pain and distress of the needy. In such a condition they are also desensitized to the presence of opportunity as it arrives. Opportunity may be gone in a week, a day, an hour or maybe even in a minute. As soon as it appears, it is suddenly gone and with it the chance to make significant impact.
We all have some people around us who resemble Judas in this passage. No matter how much wisdom there is in our value of opportunity, they will criticize and complain about waste and misappropriation. Don’t worry about it. Jesus has your back and He says, "Let her (him) alone. You always have the poor with you. You don't always have me."
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