Taking the time

Time is a precious commodity these days.  It is something that we cannot get back.  When we waste it, it's gone.  When we use it to get as much done as possible, it's still gone.  There is nothing we can do to get time back.  Time is constantly ticking down to the end of all things and sometimes that makes me stop and think about the time I have spent on this earth.  Have I wasted my time or have I taken advantage of the time God has given me.  I would say a little of both.  But, one thing that God challenged me with last night during our Bible study was taking the time to interact with humanity.  You might be reading this and think, "Well, that's a silly statement.  You must interact with humanity on a daily basis."  I do, but do I really interact with humanity?

Jesus spent 33 years of his life interacting with humanity.  This is the God of the universe in human flesh coming down to be like us and to be with us.  He experienced what we experience.  He tasted the food we taste.  He laughed at things we laugh at (well maybe not everything we laugh at).  He was hungry and thirsty like we are hungry and thirsty.  He experienced humanity and he also interacted with humanity on a very intimate level.  Take for instance the 12 apostles.  He chose these men to follow him.  These were the Rabbi school rejects.  They probably went to their rabbis and asked them if they could be their disciples.  The rabbis rejected them because they weren't good enough.  But, Jesus, the greatest Rabbi of all, told them to follow him.  This was unheard of for a Rabbi to do in first century Israel.  But, Jesus wanted to interact with humanity.  He spent countless hours with these men, training them to carry on his work.  Along the way, he interacted with the outcasts of society like prostitutes and tax collectors.  He went to Zacchaeus' house to eat with him and he was a tax collector.  He touched lepers to heal them.  He touched the lame and sick so that they would be free from their diseases and their handicaps.  Those who follow Jesus want to be like him.  I want to be like him, and, yet, I can't find the time to talk to someone that I see at the grocery store or any where else I may go.  Sometimes I feel like I don't have enough time, but is that the way of the Master?

This is what we talked about in Bible study last night.  We talked about building relationships with people.  It takes effort.  It takes courage at times.  But, most of all, it takes time.  I was really challenged by God to take the time to meet people and to remember their names so that next time, I can get to know them a little bit better.  This is what our society wants from the Church.  They want the followers of Jesus to rise up and be like him.  They want the followers of Jesus to interact with humanity and not just stay behind our stained glass windows and be the moral police of society.  They don't want us to tell them how to vote.  They don't want to know what we are against.  They need to see who we are for.  They need to see the Gospel before they listen to the Gospel.  They need to see that we follow the Master.  The way we are going to do this is to do it like the Master did, take the time.