Jesus Took Time

Jesus Took Time
John R. Petrilli

Some say that the best teaching is born in the fires of personal experience. I recently enjoyed a three- day stay at the Word Of Life Christian Campground in Schroon Lake, New York. As I packed for the trip, I sensed God wanted to speak to me about a specific area in my life when I got up there. Well, that impression proved true, and this article is the result. What God showed me was that I had allowed my busy schedule to systematically erode the basic disciplines of Bible reading and prayer to the point of virtual non-existence. Right there at camp I vowed to get my quiet time and Bible reading back in order immediately, recapturing and nailing down the time and place each day when I would meet with God.

Some of you may be familiar with the term, “the tyranny of the urgent”. It happens when we’re hard pressed by something, and opt to address it as priority above everything else. While there are legitimate times when we have to drop everything to tend to something, it’s my observation that we’re all too often guilty of allowing the “tyranny of the non-urgent” to dominate our lives. Yes, we have this or that thing to get done, but it’s so easy to allow the incidental things to crowd out the things that are of supreme importance. A “I don’t have time for that” mentality drives the decisions we make about how we’ll spend our time, and if we’re not careful, we may end up jettisoning the very things that God says are not only most important, but unalterably essential to out spiritual well being. Things like prayer, worship, fellowship, Scripture reading and study, get literally “lost in the shuffle”, and our walk with God takes on a trajectory of steady decline. The truth is, it’s not about “how much” time we have, it’s about how we choose to use and prioritize that time. As I sat in the morning chapel at Word Of Life, God started showing me how Jesus successfully handled the tyranny of the non-urgent, and how I can do the same.


JESUS CARVED TIME OUT OF A BUSY SCHEDULE TO TALK WITH THE FATHER IN SOLITUDE. Mark 1:35

“Early the next morning, Jesus woke and left the house while it was still dark. He went to a place to be alone and pray.” (Everyday Bible)

So how does our day usually start out? The alarm goes off, we roll over with a groan, perhaps hit the snooze button, and eventually drag ourselves out of bed. Then it’s off to the bathroom, down to the breakfast table, and out the door. Before we try to justify this pattern with “I’m just too busy to meet with God”, we need to take a close look at the incredible demands of a typical day in Jesus’ life, then think again.

According to Mark 1, a normal day for Him started before sunup and didn’t end until long after sundown, and was overloaded with activities that would drain and stress out the best of us. Things like Spirit-empowered preaching, miraculous healings of diseases and disabilities and demonic exorcisms. These and much more were all in a day’s work for Him. I preach one 30-minute message and am completely drained. I visit three folks in the hospital, and am crying for supper and my easy chair. I encounter resistance to my witness, and am ready for a break. Here’s the Lord cruising through a day more demanding than any of will ever see. But note what happens the following morning. Instead of “sleeping in”, He sets the alarm to an hour before dawn, gets up, and goes out to a spot where there are zero distractions. Oh yes, He could have justified taking it easy that particular morning, having spent the better part of an eighteen-hour day ministering to others. But no such cop out is recorded. Knowing His spiritual lifeblood hinged on that quiet hour alone with His Father, He denied his flesh and pushed Himself to get alone. He had the wisdom to escape the distractions of eye by praying in the predawn darkness, and escaping the interruptions of others by leaving the home He was staying at. Here is true wisdom! In so doing, He positioned Himself to receive the direction and strengthening He’d need for the new day ahead of Him. Like the Psalmist of old, He found a place where He could actively wait on the Father, making His requests, and listening for the Father’s sure answer (Psalm 5:3; 63:1). Those who would be wise among us will do well to emulate the example of dedication, discipline, and determination which Christ sets here. He models what it means to prioritize the habit of meeting with God privately on a daily basis, and wants us to follow His sterling example (Luke 5:16 ; Matt. 14:23; Matt. 6:6). While Jesus and Daniel are seen praying alone at various hours of the day (Psa. 55:17), the priority the Bible gives to the morning watch is unmistakably clear.

The pressures and problems of daily life can sap the joy out of living. A plant thrives by drawing nutrients from the soil up through its root system. Likewise, we need to maintain vital connection to our Source of spiritual life, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 15:5). As we intentionally carve out time to quietly dwell on God’s presence, His Word and Spirit will take root and bear fruit in our lives. Let’s tap into the Root so that we can produce lots of luscious fruit!


JESUS CARVED TIME OUT OF A BUSY SCHEDULE TO FELLOWSHIP WITH PEOPLE.

A partying Jesus? I’m afraid so. Not only was He present at a wedding reception, He actually saves the life of the party by replenishing the refreshment table and rescuing the host from sure embarrassment (John 2:1-11). Oh, He could have easily sent back a reply to the wedding invitation excusing Himself on the grounds that He had to be about His Father business. But, no, He is a Man among men. He helped institute marriage, and wasn’t about to let an opportunity to share in the joy of this young couple’s union escape His “to do list”.

Then there’s the time when Jesus invited Himself to dinner at the home of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:5-6). I can almost hear the joy in Jesus’ voice as he celebrated the fellowship as well as the newfound faith of His new buddy (v. 9). So how are we doing in the fellowship category? Do we place high priority on spending quality time with family and friends? And what about our church family? Do we make it a point to meet with them regularly to share in worship, fellowship, ministry and much needed encouragement (Heb. 10:24-25)?


JESUS CARVED TIME OUT OF A BUSY SCHEDULE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OTHERS.

Someone once pointed out that Jesus is never seen running in the Bible narratives. His life was so well ordered and attuned to the Spirit that He moved through each day one godly step at a time. This allowed Him the freedom and flexibility to respond to others in an incredibly sensitive and highly effective manner. He cared enough to observe others. He stopped to listen to others. He responded to their needs. He blessed their lives through His active loving concern. See the Messiah stooping down to clean the crud off the disciples’ feet with not a hint of shame or disgrace (John 13:1-17). Knowing His demeanor, He probably did so with such elegance and class to inspire the disciples to line up for the next chance to be a foot washer! Watch Him brush away the disciples and open His loving arms to the little children as if they were the only thing on earth that mattered that moment (Mark 10:13-14). Observe as He stops dead in His tracks to respond to a duet of two sight-impaired individuals desperately crying aloud to Him for healing mercy (Matt. 9:27). While most of us do not have the luxury of an itinerant schedule, there’s nothing stopping us from being alert and responsive to the Holy Spirit when He prompts us to reach out and touch some hurting, needy heart. The issue isn’t opportunity, the real issue is our availability. And according to Paul, our loving service should extend beyond the fellowship of the saints to include random acts of kindness towards those outside the fold as well (Gal. 6:10,13).


JESUS CARVED TIME OUT OF A BUSY SCHEDULE TO WORSHIP REGULARLY IN A BELIEVING COMMUNITY.

I once stumbled upon a precious little children’s book titled, “Did Jesus Go To Church?”. Written by a New York State based author and former pastor, the volume helped children see from the Bible how Jesus lived out His faith even during the tender years of childhood. So DID Jesus go to church? According to Luke, Jesus was what we’d call a “regular church goer”. The text says that synagogue attendance was His “custom”, His regular habit (Luke 4:16). Is it a coincidence that Christ had such command of the Hebrew Scriptures? While His parents surely instructed Him in this regard, I haven’t a doubt in my mind that the synagogue augmented that domestic tutelage, producing a Man Who was mighty in the Scriptures. From early on in His life, everyone was amazed with the breadth and depth of His grasp of Scripture (Luke 2:46-47). Just picture it, here’s the Chief Shepherd submitting Himself to Israel’s under shepherds, and confounding them at that! His pattern of Synagogue attendance didn’t change one iota (John 18:20), as we see Him repeatedly teaching there, even at the risk of excommunication (John 9:22) and execution (Luke 4:28-30)! What a contrast between Him and us, who often may want to skip out on church because we don’t want to fight traffic, sit in an uncomfortable pew, or contribute to the financial support of the ministry (SHAME!!!)


JESUS CARVED TIME OUT OF A BUSY SCHEDULE TO WITNESS TO ALL WHO WOULD LISTEN TO HIM. John 3 ; 4

I saved this one for last. Most of you may not know, but I had the privilege of receiving specialized training in Evangelism at a highly recognized Bible Institute. Evangelism is what makes my heart skip a beat. While I love studying the topic, God has called me to various ministries where I put that knowledge and training to work in His vineyard. When we approach this subject, I can already see the defenses going up. “I don’t have the gift of evangelism.” “I try to witness with my life, that’s good enough.” “God didn’t call everybody to be a Billy Graham you know!” “I’m not a very outgoing person”. “I’m afraid I’ll be tagged as some kind of fanatic at the office”. The excuses are myriad and go on and on ad infintum. But most of this subterfuge is the result of misunderstanding what real evangelism is. IMHO (text lingo for “In My Humble Opinion”), evangelism is as simple as one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread. Original huh? Yeah, yeah, I know it’s an old, worn out line, but its still true! We don’t have to “force” the gospel on anyone. We live the life, and as God opens up opportunities, we share the faith. Of course we’re to pray for the salvation of the lost around us, and ask God to open those evangelistic doors. But when all’s said and done, we’ve just got to cooperate with the awesome work of soul winning that God’s already engaged in. He’s doing the work, we’re just along for the ride. God’s not going to let anyone get lost that He’s ordained to be saved. He simply calls us to help Him gather in the crop. Now does that take the pressure off or what?

Jesus shows us “how” to do evangelism. The first two chapters of the Gospel of John may as well be called “Evangelism 101”. He engages people where they’re at, and uses parallels in their lives to attract them to Himself. He asks great questions that get people to think through their presuppositions. He challenges them to consider His call to a higher and more rewarding plane of living. He affirms their strengths, and invites them to join Him in reaching a world that’s doomed to a dark, hopeless eternity. He openly expresses His affection for others, always willing to help them in any way He can. He wins their trust with a genuine love that expresses itself in not so random acts of humble service. As we follow His lead, we’ll start catching “fish”, and perhaps become experts hauling in more than our nets can handle (Matt. 4:19)!