“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.” ~ Ephesians 1: 7-8

“Can we pull our truck in your driveway?”

I was just bringing our mail in from the mailbox when a woman approached me from our neighbor’s house. Her son was dismantling the solar water heater on their roof.

“Sure,” I said and I stopped and chatted with her. As her friendly conversation went on, I became more distracted as I internally debated what to do. I didn’t turn the conversation to spiritual things like I often do, nor did I take the round-trip journey of fifty steps to pick up a tract from the little stack I keep by our front door.

Several times that week I didn’t try to share Christ when I had the opportunity.

I knew God would probably use someone else in this woman’s life. I also knew that the longer I ignored opportunities from God, the sooner they would dry up; I  wondered how God felt about me and my reluctance.

At the end of that week our pastor taught us from Ephesians, explaining the meaning of “trespasses”: incomplete obedience, falling short of the mark, shortcomings.

Ephesians 1: 7-8 took on a whole new meaning for me as I realized God’s complete cleansing for my failures. I know I can trust Him for His strength to obey when He gives more opportunities to tell others about how awesome He is.