Begin with two minutes of stillness and silence before God.

When people think about you, what is one thing you hope stands out? Let’s assume that if you are reading this “Jesus” is a fair answer for all of us. We should all long for others to see Jesus in us. Go a layer deeper. How do you want people to encounter the love of Jesus in you? For me, it is the ministry of presence. I long to be known as a person who is present, physically and mentally, with the people in front of me.

In the hustle of our current cultural stream, busyness is often worn as a bridge of honor. When you ask someone how they are doing, you can anticipate the answer most of the time: “Good, but busy.” To say anything different would be perceived as lazy, ineffective, or somehow experiencing less in life. The great irony is, however, that in our rush to do and experience more, we don’t ever really experience what is in front of us now. Life is spent looking at where we must go next, not where we are now.

That is why the life of Jesus that we read about through the Gospels is so refreshing, it offers a different way, a better way. From what you know about Jesus of Nazareth would you consider Him to be lazy, ineffective, or having a less-than life? If so, you must be reading a different book than me. Religious or not, it’s simply unrealistic to argue that any singular life has had more of a profound impact on the world than Jesus of Nazareth. Yet, when we examine His pace of life, one of the things that is glaringly different than the lives so many of us are living is the way He made time to be present with people.

Luke 10 is a great example. Jesus is surrounded by crowds of people when a synagogue ruler named Jarius approaches him. Jarius would have been a big deal in that time, but he fell on his face and begged Jesus for help with his daughter. Jesus has just come off a big moment of exorcism that stirred up an entire time. Now he has a new high-profile healing dropped in his lap. Anybody want to stack up your to-dos with Jesus at this point?

In route to help the family of Jarius, we are told that a no-name woman reaches out and grabs the edge of Jesus’ rob in desperate hope of healing. Jesus is busy. He has places to go, people to see, and important things to do. He doesn’t have time for interruptions, especially for someone who’s not even important enough to get a namedrop. Yet the Savior of the world stops everything else to engage with this woman. In doing so, He not only offers her physical healing, but He restores her value and dignity as a person created in the image of God.

My hope and prayer is that you and I don’t miss those same opportunities in our rush to get the next task done. Value and dignity are given in simple moments of presence.

Take two minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflections:

• How do you typically handle interruptions? Are you patient and present, or frustrated and rushed?
  
• Examine your pace of life. Are there tweaks you can make to create more time to be present with the people God puts in front of you?