弗五15~16 “你们要仔细留意怎样行事为人，不要像不智慧的人，乃要像有智慧的人；要赎回光阴，因为日子邪恶。”

　　西四5 “你们对于外人要凭智慧行事，要赎回光阴。”

　　以弗所〔五章十六节〕和歌罗西〔四章五节〕所说的“赎回光阴”，可以翻作“赎回机会”。…有许多的事，我们…不知道失去了多少机会。有的事是我们能作的，我们没有作。有的人是我们能救的，我们没有救。有的地方，聚会可以起头的，我们没有起头。有的弟兄，是我们可以得着的，我们没有得着。我们失去了许多机会！将来在主面前，我们要有何等的懊悔！（倪柝声文集第三辑第九册，二二七至二二八页。）

　　Eph. 5:15-16 Look therefore carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

　　Col. 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are without, redeeming the time.

　　One could translate the word time in the passages from Colossians 4:5 and Ephesians 5:16 as redeeming the “opportunity.”…In many matters…we do not know how many opportunities we have missed. Many things which we can do are all too easily missed by us. Many people whom we can save are all too easily neglected by us. Many cities where we can start an assembly are all too easily overlooked by us. Many brothers whom we can gain are lost through us. We have lost so many opportunities! When we face the Lord in the future, we will truly have much regret to face! (CWWN, vol. 55, pp. 193-194)

　　在主所定规我们的日子中，也许昨天乃是我们一生一世最大的日子。但昨天还是平平常常的过去了。这个叫作失去了机会。所以一个学习事奉神的人，不应当昨天如何，今天仍是如何。如果昨天如何，今天仍是如何的话，就是一个失去机会的人。我们如果不知道主今天要作什么事情，如果不知道今天要发生什么事情，这个就叫作失去机会。

　　也许主给我一个意思，要我去寻某某人。这个人，也许再过五年是主所大用的人。主要用他救成千成万的人。但是那一天我因怕热，懒惰，竟没有去。我又失去了机会，失去了寻一个主所要大用的人。…一日一日，…主不知道给了我们多少机会，而机会竟然都被我们失去了！

　　为什么…“光阴”〔可以〕翻作“机会”呢？因为“机会”是在时间里。天天都有主所给我们的机会。所以今天我们只有低头向主说，主，你今天安排什么机会给我们，我们不知道。没有一天主没有安排。天天都有主所定规的。天天都不失去主所给的机会，这个人就是神所能用的人。…这些事一直接连传下去，不知道要发生多大的事情。…有一个不识字的补鞋的人，谁知道他会变作慕迪？如果那一天有人失去机会，世界上就少了一个慕迪。谁知道腓利那一天到旷野遇见那一个太监，（徒八26~39，）整个非洲的召会就从那一天起头？在非洲的召会是比在欧洲的召会还早的！

　　要不失去机会，我们就需要有属灵的训练，我们就需要有属灵的感觉。…有属灵的训练，一有机会，我们就能看见。我们不能让机会丢掉。绝不能元首有安排，而我们的眼睛是瞎的。绝不能让元首感觉我们对祂的指示和引导是麻木的。我们拼也得拼上去。一有机会，就得抓住。没有这种训练，没有这种感觉，就主所定规的机会要被我们失去。

　　我们有一天到主的面前，我们一生一世所认为满意的，那一天我们可能要变作懊悔。我们赶不上神的定规。我们是一个不忠心的人，我们是一个愚昧的人。主安排十个机会，也许我们一个都没有摸着。我们站在审判台前，真正是有祸的人！…经常俸行故事的工作，而把神所赐的机会都丢掉了，我们有祸了！…我们要带神的儿女走上神所定规的路。我们一天过一天要趁着机会来走前面的路，来作前面的工。（倪柝声文集第三辑第九册，二二八、二三○至二三三页。）

　　参读：倪柝声文集第三辑第九册，二二七至二三八页。

　　Of the days that the Lord has ordained for us, perhaps yesterday should have been the greatest day of our life, but we may have lived yesterday in an ordinary way. This is what it means to miss the opportunity. One who is learning to serve should not do the same thing today as he did yesterday. If he is the same today as yesterday, he has squandered his opportunities. If we do not know what the Lord is doing today or what is going to happen today, we are missing the opportunity.

　　Perhaps the Lord gave me a thought that I should seek out a certain person who could have turned out to be a great vessel in the hand of the Lord in the next five years. Perhaps the Lord wanted to use such a person to save tens of thousands of souls, but on that day I did not go because I was afraid the weather was too hot, and I was too lazy. I lost an opportunity and neglected a person who was potentially very useful to the Lord. Day by day, the Lord gives us countless opportunities in our life, and we miss them all!

　　Why does the Bible translate time as “opportunity”? Because “opportunity” is something that is found in time. Every day the Lord gives us opportunities. Today we can only bow our heads and say to the Lord, “I do not know what opportunities You have given me today. There is never a day without Your arrangement. Every day You have ordained something to happen to me.” Those whom God can use never miss the opportunities He has provided….Things happen continually, and we do not know how great any one of them will be…. Who would have guessed that one day an illiterate cobbler could become a Moody? If someone had missed the opportunity to preach to him, the world would not have had a Moody. Who would have guessed that Philip would meet the eunuch the day he went into the wilderness (Acts 8:26-39)? The entire church in Africa owes its beginning to that day, and we know that the church in Africa began earlier than the church in Europe!

　　In order to not miss the opportunities, we need spiritual training. We also need spiritual sensitivity….With spiritual training, we can identify opportunities when they come our way. We cannot allow opportunities to go away. We must not be dull to any direction from the Head. We must not let the Head have a sense that we are numb to His leading. We have to be desperate for this. We should grasp whatever opportunity we have. If we do not have this kind of training and feeling, we will miss the opportunities the Lord has arranged.

　　One day we will face the Lord. Perhaps we will regret the things in our life that now provide us with satisfaction. We have come short of God’s will. We have not been faithful. We have acted foolishly. The Lord may have put ten opportunities before us, but we have not even touched one. Woe to us when we stand before the judgment seat!…Woe to us, for we have acted thoughtlessly and have missed many opportunities that God has given us!…We must bring God’s children into His ordained way. Day by day we must take the opportunity to go on and to do the work before us. (CWWN, vol. 55, pp. 194-198)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 55, pp. 193-202