Priorities
'Tis the holiday season, a time of running around, errands and parties. A time when we are surrounded by food and well-wishers. A time when we also feel weary and even stressed. Not feelings we want when we approach a holiday that is supposed to be a celebration of the birth of our Savior.
What a time to be thinking about the importance of food in my life! It's all around me. And because I love to bake (and am pretty good at it, if I say so myself), my family and loved ones expect all sorts of baked goods from me. Not only that, I seem to think that the best way to show my love for others is by making their favorite foods. And now that my son is living in Tennessee, so far away from our Western New York home, I want to be sure to have plenty of his favorite foods when he comes to spend some time at home. That was Thanksgiving and will be Christmas.
But a recent reading of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (John 4), showed me something I've seen many times before but that spoke to me in a new way.
While Jesus had been sharing with the woman, His disciples had gone into the city to buy food. Jesus was physically weary and certainly hungry from traveling. When they returned, they observed their teacher deep in conversation. Once she went into town to bring her neighbors back to hear the wonderful message of Jesus, they urged Him to have something to eat.
Jesus' response? "I have food to eat that you do not know about." "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work."
What verses to read when food temptations are all around, when life is so full of other things. Those who know me know that I am currently on Weight Watchers. I've done really well until recently and some of those lost pounds are sneaking back on. I find myself grazing on food. I put off my Bible study. I avoid this blog. I avoid spending the time in fervent prayer that I know I need, that God desires, and that benefits those for whom I pray.
Of course, it's not just food that takes me away from the priorities of God's Will. Sometimes it is actually doing good things for others, for God. But are they the things God wants me doing for Him at that moment? How often do I decide to put some important work or activity ahead of what I know He is nudging me to do? The urgency of the necessary. The appeal of busy work. The service that shows. Another snack.
So I look at that verse and I realize that to be Christlike would mean I can do without for a time, for the purpose of obeying my Heavenly Father. And doing without can mean without food, but it can also mean without certain activities, no matter how good they are. Instead, I must obey the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit.
How willing am I? What are my priorities? Is doing God's will for me first and foremost in my mind, in my activities, in my heart? I want to say "yes", but my actions often contradict my desire.
What a time to be thinking about the importance of food in my life! It's all around me. And because I love to bake (and am pretty good at it, if I say so myself), my family and loved ones expect all sorts of baked goods from me. Not only that, I seem to think that the best way to show my love for others is by making their favorite foods. And now that my son is living in Tennessee, so far away from our Western New York home, I want to be sure to have plenty of his favorite foods when he comes to spend some time at home. That was Thanksgiving and will be Christmas.
But a recent reading of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (John 4), showed me something I've seen many times before but that spoke to me in a new way.
While Jesus had been sharing with the woman, His disciples had gone into the city to buy food. Jesus was physically weary and certainly hungry from traveling. When they returned, they observed their teacher deep in conversation. Once she went into town to bring her neighbors back to hear the wonderful message of Jesus, they urged Him to have something to eat.
Jesus' response? "I have food to eat that you do not know about." "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work."
What verses to read when food temptations are all around, when life is so full of other things. Those who know me know that I am currently on Weight Watchers. I've done really well until recently and some of those lost pounds are sneaking back on. I find myself grazing on food. I put off my Bible study. I avoid this blog. I avoid spending the time in fervent prayer that I know I need, that God desires, and that benefits those for whom I pray.
Of course, it's not just food that takes me away from the priorities of God's Will. Sometimes it is actually doing good things for others, for God. But are they the things God wants me doing for Him at that moment? How often do I decide to put some important work or activity ahead of what I know He is nudging me to do? The urgency of the necessary. The appeal of busy work. The service that shows. Another snack.
So I look at that verse and I realize that to be Christlike would mean I can do without for a time, for the purpose of obeying my Heavenly Father. And doing without can mean without food, but it can also mean without certain activities, no matter how good they are. Instead, I must obey the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit.
How willing am I? What are my priorities? Is doing God's will for me first and foremost in my mind, in my activities, in my heart? I want to say "yes", but my actions often contradict my desire.
For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared before hand,
that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10
Quotations are from the English Standard Version.
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