Making the time

I love my life. I have a good one and have undoubtedly been blessed far beyond what I deserve. I have a wife and 2 boys who love me, or at least put up with me. I have a house to go home to every day and enjoy being a family with my three most favorite people in the world. I have friends who love me and influence me and for that I am a better person. And I have a “job” that I love, which gives me a means to provide for my wonderful family. As a preacher, I get to see and do things that I probably would not experience otherwise. I honestly cannot think of a better life than walking in a partnership with Jesus every day in service to His great kingdom. It is a joy to be a part of this community and do what I can to influence people for good. I am thankful for the church here in La Grange for supporting me so that I can continue doing this for a living. I do not deserve to be so blessed. I acknowledge that I am a little biased here, but there just is not a greater way in my opinion, to spend my days while earning a living.

With that said my work as a preacher can sometimes get hectic too, as can any job of course. For the most part, in a small community like this, things are smooth around here and I am able to establish a routine that works for me and my family. But there are also deadlines to meet when something needs to be turned in or submitted. People in the congregation get sick unexpectedly and I want to be there for them if I can. Members have problems in which they ask for my help in dealing with them. And I am happy to do that. There are those that are grieving and I try to offer my support to them in whatever way I can. Then there are Bible studies that take place throughout the week sometimes, and I am blessed to have the opportunity to be involved in those. Sometimes my phone will ring late at night or early in the morning. Then there are the Bible classes and sermons for which to prepare, and articles to write. And I always try to make time for personal study and devotion to God. As enjoyable as my work is, it is a very busy work.

So when is there time to truly get out in the community and get some “hands on” influencing accomplished like Jesus did? I think this is something that perhaps all of us probably need to think about, especially me.

Let me offer an example of what I am talking about. There are occasions when I am seemingly doing five hundred things at one time and right in the midst of an inconvenient moment, someone will call or come by the church building needing some type of financial help. I have witnessed a lot of people come into the doors of this building who are in obvious need of help. Some of them are disabled vets. Some are low income single mothers with children. Some of them are unclothed except for bare essentials. Some have been very polite. Some have been rude. Some have been in tears. Some are young and some are elderly. I had a teenager call me one time that was in a wheel chair and had been abandoned by his father, and he needed some help. I can remember one time when a husband came in and was in tears because his wife left him because of a filthy addiction he wouldn’t give up. There are times when it is all I can do but pray to God and thank Him so much for my health and prosperity.

While I have always considered it a big part of my job as a representative of the Lord’s body of people here in La Grange, to assist whomever I can, I must also admit that the temptation exists sometimes to just unassumingly tell the person “we are not able to help you at this time, sorry.” This way I wouldn’t get bogged down with such tedious tasks of talking with the person and seeing what I can do to help them. It is nothing personal against them, but this will free up more time for me to do the work of the church, right?

The problem with this rationale however, is that talking with these individuals and seeing how we can assist them IS the work of the church. It is our most pressing duty as God’s people right now. What a tremendous example we find in Jesus. Our Lord’s purpose on earth was to do the will of the Father (John 4:34) by seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19:10). This was primarily His function. He preached and taught people about His kingdom every opportunity He had. And He did it well and effectively. He was loving, compassionate, patient, merciful, and courageous in His efforts to persuade people that the kingdom was in their midst and within their grasp if they would just accept Him (Matthew 4:23-5:12). But there is something else to consider in the manner in which Jesus taught. His method was not limited to planned occasions for publicly standing before people and teaching them. Rather, it was in every day life events where He really made the difference. He would take opportunities provided by people coming to Him. He actually helped them. He healed people of their sicknesses; He cast out evil spirits; He raised people from the dead; He made the blind see and the deaf hear. He used current events going on the lives of people as illustrations to teach them about God and His kingdom. In other words, He made the time! He was very busy. Often, He would make efforts to get away and be alone, sometimes even to pray to the Father. But people continued to follow Him. But He didn’t turn down the opportunities to serve them. He made the time.

Do we make the time? Every time I fail in this regard, and I do; I am guilty of forgetting the kingdom of which I am really a part. I know we don’t have time, so I am not even going to bother with that question. Of course, we don’t have time. We are all busy. But my question, is do we MAKE the time? In reality, I am not so sure it is even a matter of necessarily taking time out of our lives to serve God and introduce people to Jesus, as much as it is taking these opportunities while in the process of our living. In other words, being a light in our community should be our life. It is our lifestyle. Disciples are not forbidden from playing with friends, but because they are disciples they want to be a good influence while playing. God doesn’t expect His servants to forgo sporting events or other forms of entertainments. He actually wants us to participate in these kinds of things because that is our chance to be the salt and light to the world. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 5:13-16 that we are the Godly flavor to a tasteless world. It is not a matter of not doing these things; it is a matter of remembering Whose we are while doing them.

There are those in our respective communities who are genuinely hurting. Just like people in Jesus’ society were hurting. He reached out to them. It was an opportunity. There are those in our respective communities who are in need of love, grace, and forgiveness. They are in need of a sense of belonging. And as God’s community of believers, we need to be letting these people know that we are a safe haven for them. We want them to know that we are a place that they can come and feel safe and welcomed. If people can’t feel welcomed around us, how exactly are we going to fulfill our primary obligation to teach them about Christ? That is what kingdom living is all about. This is what Christ’s church is designed to be. We don’t “do” church, but we are the church. It is not "what we are" but rather, "who we are." The church, when it was established in the first century, was not content with sitting in their own little circles, reaffirming their doctrinal beliefs week after week. Daily they were out in their communities seeking to establish relationships so they could do some good. And they grew as a result. They literally saw themselves as the extension of Christ’s work on earth. They made the time. Do we? Please pray for me that I may do a better job in making and utilizing the time I have. And I will continue to pray for you.