It’s begun! Lent is officially here, and with that we try to get closer to God and walk in His light. Usually, by giving up something that we indulge in or are addicted to, we try and close the gap between Him and us. Now, this has had me (CA) really searching the last couple of days high and low to find something that I could meaningfully remove from my routine to try and walk a little more like Jesus. With no answer, I used lifelines; asking others for some great idea that would strike an epiphany. Even with great council I still couldn’t come up with one. I did what usually works best: said a little prayer and went on with the day! Well, joyfully, my answer came. It wasn’t exactly under the circumstances I had expected.
I awoke to a start this morning. No alarm, no phone, but the honking of the team van. I was suppose to have been ready and packed for an 11 day road trip. Sad to say, I was neither. I literally was throwing everything off the floor out of the draws and closet into my travel bag, hoping I got all the necessities. But as the van pulled away from the house it hit me like a ton of bricks-- IPOD!! Then, on my first flight, I realized how much I listen to it and how much I zone out the world and the people around me when I use it. This has become even more apparent as I watch my teammates’ interaction, or lack of, since we began our trip.
How effective would Jesus have been if he had just walked around zoning people out? Pretty sure he would have missed Zacchaeus in the tree! So with the iPod gone, I'm working on being more open to the people around me during Lent. Didn't actually come up with it on my own, but I think He led me right into this one. So what is everybody else giving up?
Jesus understood the importance of being present. His entire ministry was dedicated to being in the moment with people who where in pain or suffering as well as those who were joyful.
ReplyDeleteObviously, as CA points out, He was fully aware when Zaccheaus was in the tree. He had to be mentally present when the woman in the crowd touched His robe and was healed.
To follow His example means to be present with His people; to share in their joys as well as their concerns.