Hi Friends, When I read the life of Christ in the Gospels, I get this sense. I get the feeling that wherever He was going and whatever He was doing, Jesus was wholly interruptible. Unlike the well-scripted narratives you or I might have expected the Gospels to deliver, Jesus’ days were filled with spontaneous moments. He was cried out to from the side of the road. Once, the hem of His robe was grabbed from behind while He navigated through a crowd on His way to the next town. When He escaped to a deserted place to pray, a crowd of people found Him, needing Him for healing. In each circumstance, Jesus shows no irritation. No passive aggression. Just compassion. Just care. Eugene Peterson says of the first three years of Jesus’ ministry, “Jesus doesn’t seem to be going anywhere in particular — he more or less drifts from village to village, goes off by himself into the hills to pray, worships in the synagogues, gives the impression that he has time to take meals with anyone who invites him over, to go boating with his friends on the lake. We do not construe this relaxed pace as aimlessness or indolence, for energy and intensity are always evident. But through these Galilean years, Jesus appears to have all the time in the world, which, of course, he does have”. And if you think about it that way, then Jesus wasn’t ever actually interrupted at all. You see, it’s not an interruption if it was always “Plan A”. And for Jesus, “Plan A” is, and always has been, people. Yes, these ones along the way who we see pressing in to touch Him — even climbing up trees to catch a glimpse of Him — they have always been the mission all along. The disciples often rebuked the people seeking Jesus. These seekers are rarely dignified, often better categorized as the “least of these” than as ones worthy of an audience with God-in-Flesh. But Jesus never ignored them, never hurried by on the other side of the road. He took time. Gave of Himself. Looked them in the eye. This was His mission. His delight. I need this Jesus work in me. To be unhurried by numbers and impact, unimpressed by swelling words. But for the one who stands right in front of me? My neighbor? I want to be moved with compassion. Yes, I need this Jesus work in me. — Anna |
I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
Hi Friends, If you’ve been following along for a while, you know my family has been on what we are calling a “church tour” for the last year. We have been to many different churches representing different denominations and expressions of worship. And with each unique experience, each vastly different expression, one thing was the same in every place we went: We sang. In fact, in the Orthodox Church, minus a ten minute portion of the two-hour service, they sang the whole time. The megachurch...
Hi Friends, Remember the story in 1 Kings when Elijah stood on a mountain before the Lord, and the Lord passed by him? A fire broke out, a strong wind tore through, and an earthquake erupted… But the Lord was not in those things. After the fire, winds and earthquake, there was a still small voice. Him. I don’t want to miss those whispers. The moment He enters your thoughts as you’re chopping vegetables in the kitchen. The worship song that lifts your heart during your morning commute. The...
Dear Friends, When my oldest son was two years old, he used to do this thing. Oftentimes he did this when he was tired, or frustrated, or lonely. He would pull on me and say, “Sing about me?” And so, I’d lift him onto my lap, hold him close, and sing. We sang about the oatmeal he had for breakfast, how he had blueberries and said no to the cream. We sang about the consequence he got an hour ago for refusing to obey. We sang about how he played with the excavator he got for his birthday, and...