Day 17 of 31 Days of October – Roses Among The Thorns

It’s been a busy few days (thus me missing some of my 31 days commitment).

I am in a season when busy is just the way it is.  In order to take care of Sweet William and take care of business, being busy cannot be helped.  I know that seasons change and this one will pass eventually.

In my younger days I sometimes wore “so busy” as a badge of how important I was, or at least how important my activity was.  But as I study the life of Jesus, being too busy does not describe His life style.

For certain, He had an agenda, to do the will of the Father, to complete the task of bringing salvation to all the world through His death on the cross.  Nothing could hinder Him from that.  He would let no man determine the course of His activity.

Yet, I never read where Jesus was in a hurry.  And I notice how often He was interrupted and how He took that in stride.  He was moved by compassion for the needs of people.  He spent days healing the sick and demon possed.  He stopped in His tracks when a poor woman touched His garment or a father came running for help for his child.  Those kind of things never seemed to throw Jesus’ schedule off balance.

I have pondered Jesus’ words to his disciples, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice . . . ”  It is a reference to Hosea 6:6 which reads:

“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”

I need to learn a lesson.  God desires that I exhibit kindness, patience, and mercy to those in front of me, to anyone who interrupts my schedule, rather than an accumulation of completed tasks. He wants me to know Him more than He wants all of my good deeds.

I get that backwards sometimes.

There will always be things to do.  Always.  But I may not always be able to spend time with that person right in front of my eyes, the someone who crosses my path of tasks to finish.  My relationship with my Father and with others and is more important than doing more and more.

In God’s economy less is often more.

For a list of the days of October, go here please.

The colorful “To Do List” is from CleanMama.net.