Interruptible
Hello,
When someone interrupts you in the middle of a task, how do you react? Usually, if the task is important, I will respond with either annoyance (with my family) or with shortness (everyone else). You will rarely interrupt me in the middle of something and get my full attention. Unless of course I didn’t really want to do what I was doing anyways. I recognize this in myself, yet it is really difficult to change. I consistently allow my tasks to become the top priority in my day which unfortunately means they become the top priority in my life. I give into the lie that today I will focus on my to-do list and tomorrow I will get to relationships. Tomorrow never comes.
When I read through the gospels, there is one thing about Jesus that consistently strikes me. He was interruptible. By small children, by a woman bleeding, by incessant questions from his disciples, even when they were being really dull. Jesus was patient, and allowed himself to live truly in the moment, even while he was looking towards eternity, even when he had the most important tasks in the history of mankind in front of him. Yet my tasks are too important…I want to be interruptible like Jesus was. When a student comes into my room with a question, I want to be able to pause what I am doing (within reason) and engage with the person in front of me. When my children interrupt me in the middle of a chore, I want to be able to be present, even if it means gently telling them that daddy has to get back to work. No short remarks, no passive aggressive brushing off. I think one of the key aspects of becoming like Jesus is to have such a respect and wonder for the eternal beings walking around us, that engaging them is of more interest and importance than whatever else we could be doing.
I recognize this type of life will not come easily, and it may very well be too idealistic in a sense. We still have tasks to do, jobs to work, and chores to get done. But how often do we use that as an excuse to disengage from what God has placed around us? As Christians, we can end up giving over the majority of our lives to the worries of the moment. I don’t think that is what Christ would have us do. He says to seek first the Kingdom, and the rest will work itself out. What is more Kingdom focused than engaging the eternal soul in front of me?
-NR
