Did you know that the chances of having a Leap Day birthday are one in 1,461? I also learned that people who are born on February 29th are called “leaplings” or “leapers.” I’ve always felt sorry for them since they only get to celebrate their true birthday once every four years. I never give any thought to Leap Day until it happens, and then I think, “This is kind of a cool day.”
What is your average day like? What do you spend your time doing? What is your goal or focus for each and every day? Paul wrote that we should make the most of every opportunity by doing good.
So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people,
and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Gal. 6:10
Let’s not be leapers in the Lord’s work, doing good occasionally but on most days not giving much thought to it. Our challenge for this week is to make Galatians 6:10 our focus each morning. How can we do good to all people today? Doing good “while we have opportunity” means making the most of each new day, consistently looking for ways to make a difference in the kingdom. “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9).
Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.
(John Wesley)
Suggestions for the Week:
- Post this quote in a visible place:“Now that it’s all over, what did you really do yesterday that’s worth mentioning?”
- Make a list of the “all” in your life and come up with specific ways you can “do good” to them. Your list might include your husband, children, parents, siblings, next door neighbors, elders, church family, etc.
- Counteract the negative connotations surrounding the idea of going about doing good (“do-gooders,” “goodie two shoes”) by studying up on how God feels about it: Titus 2:7; 3:14, 2 Tim. 3:17, James 1:27, 3 John 1:11, 1 Tim. 6:18, Eph. 2:10, James 2:14-17, 1 Pet. 2:12, 2 Thess. 3:13
- As you go about doing good to others, especially those in your church family and community, invite others to join you (Heb. 10:24). Your children can help you make something for your neighbors. Ask a Christian sister or teen girl to join you when you visit a shut-in. Invite a few ladies over for coffee and spend time in prayer for the wayward.
- Pray for open eyes to see opportunities to do good and an open heart to desire to do them.
- Enjoy the genuine satisfaction that comes from serving others and living a life of meaning (Eph. 2:10).