Sorry, Wrong Number: On Being an Active Christian

2 Timothy 4:2
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season...

I heard a woman speak the other day on a blessing she received through a "wrong number".  She had dialed the wrong number and was introduced to an older gentleman on the other end of the line who would bless her more than she would have ever imagined.  They talked for hours, and prayed together, and at the end of the wrong number phone call he was able to bless her and her family through a financial gift that met a desperate need they could have never imagined would be met in such a way.

That story got me thinking.  Less about financial needs, and more about spiritual needs.  The verse about being prepared in and out of season came to my mind.  I mean, at the end of the day- you never know how God intends to use your mediocre day to day life...especially if you aren't looking for Him to use you, and even more so if you aren't prepared.

This was confirmed to me the other day when I text messaged a friend at an old number...and it turned out not to be my friend.  Another wrong number.  It was ironic...considering I had just heard this woman's story a couple weeks back.  Call it God's Spirit, or call it preparation- I decided to take advantage of this wrong number and try to bless the person on the other end.  I encouraged them, and asked them if I could be praying for them about anything.  Because, at the end of the day- you will never be used by God unless you take action. 


If you think about it, it's way to easy to become a passive Christian.  It's easy to let life go by and wonder why God isn't using us when the reality is He wants to use us everyday- we just tend to go through our day unprepared.  It's easy to be prepared "in season"...when we're on a mission trip or at a church function.  But what do we look like "out of season" when we're walking through the grocery store or dialing a wrong number.  The reality is, most Christians are either most effective or most damaging to the name of Jesus Christ and to the gospel in those moments when they are least expecting it.  In the times we are caught off guard. 

My husband and I have been trying to think of ways to be active in our faith, ways to be prepared even in situations where we would normally be unaware of the spiritual needs of those around us.  We've thought of ways to bless our waitress/waiter at a restaurant, and once we said a prayer for the Walmart cashier named Albert who was checking us out.  Places in our lives where we would normally be passive in our faith.  Because we want to live lives that are active...prepared to preach the gospel and share God's love even when we least expect to do so...even when it feels unnatural...even when it's out of season.  

So may you, Christian, as you go through your day today...may you be looking for ways to be an active Christian, taking every moment you have been given.  May you break free from the life of a passive Christian and be released into the power of an ever-loving active God.

Question for Discussion/Reflection: What are some ways you can be an active Christian in unexpected places?