Ob Portu

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:15-17 ESV). In 1269 Kublai Khan sent a request from Peking to Rome for “a hundred wise men of the Christian religion… And so I shall be baptized, and when I shall be baptized all my baron and great men will be baptized, and their subjects baptized, and so there will be more Christians here than there are in your parts.” The Mongols were then wavering in the choice of a religion. It might have been, as Kublai forecast, the greatest mass religious movement the world has ever seen. The history of all Asia would have been changed. However, the opportunity was lost. Pope Gregory X answered by sending two Dominican friars. They got as far as Armenia, could endure no longer and returned home. So passed the great missionary opportunity in the history of the church. Much has been said about “opportunity.” Some have come to believe that they could have done so much better in their lives if they would have had a better opportunity. While it is true that some people do not have the same advantages as others, there is ample proof that a person’s past circumstances does not determine success. The truth is that we often fail simply because we don’t take advantage of what IS before us! In the days before modern harbors, a ship had to wait for the flood tide before it could make it to port. The term for this situation in Latin was ob portu, that is, a ship standing over off a port, waiting for the moment when it could ride the turn of the tide to harbor. The English word opportunity is derived from this original meaning. The captain and the crew were ready and waiting for that one moment for they knew that if they missed it, they would have to wait for another tide to come in. Shakespeare turned this background of the exact meaning of opportunity into one of his most famous passages. It’s from Julius Caesar, Act 4, Scene 3: There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat; And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures. Regardless of your past, look for those present opportunities that God has placed before you and move forward in them. It may be very subtle and seemingly small, however each step taken in faith leads to more and more blessing. It is never too late to catch your “tide.” God constantly provides us with opportunity. Seize yours today!