The story is told of a young man who wished to marry a farmer’s beautiful daughter. He went to the farmer to ask for his blessing. The farmer looked him over and said, “Son, go stand out in that field and I’m going to release three bulls, one at a time. If you can catch the tail of any of the three bulls, you can marry my daughter.”
The young man stood in the pasture awaiting the first bull. The barn door opened and out rant the biggest, meanest-looking bull he had ever seen. He decided that one of the next bulls had to be a better choice than this one, so he ran over to the side and let the bull pass through the pasture out the back gate.
The barn door opened again. Unbelievable. He had never seen anything so big and fierce in his life. It stood, pawing the ground, grunting, slinging slobber, eyeing him. Whatever the next bull was like, it had to be a better choice than this one. He ran to the fence and let the bull pass through the pasture, out the back gate.
The door opened a third time. A smile came across his face. This was the weakest, scrawniest little bull he had ever seen. Here was his opportunity! As the bull came running by, he positioned himself just right and jumped at the exact moment. He grabbed . . . but the bull had no tail!
Life if full of opportunities. Some will be easy to take advantage of, some will be difficult. But, once we let them pass (often in hopes of something better), those opportunities may never again be available.
The same thing is also true of opportunities to serve Christ. God often opens doors—opportunities to speak up for him, opportunities to minister to someone who is hurting or in need, opportunities to leave a lasting influence on those around us. If we allow them to pass by (perhaps because we are waiting for something easier to come along), we may miss out on them altogether.
Consider the words of Paul: “Continue praying, keeping alert, and always thinking God. Also, pray for us that God will give us an opportunity to tell people his message” (Col. 4.2-3). “Therefore, as we have opportunity , let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6.10).
Take advantage of the doors God opens for you today!
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