I often question if I’m doing the right thing. Most of life is filled with moments that you can do anything and go in any direction. I have two jobs now and they usually keep me busy. However, I had a free day a while back and did almost nothing with it. Then it occurred to me that I only keep active because my job gives me a schedule. Wondering if I’m using my free time in the right way causes me concern. I get almost nothing done in my alone time while motivated people tend to get a lot out of their alone time. In between work steve jobs would put together a version of an apple computer from home. Micheal Jordan worked hard before and after games to hone his basketball skills. These are obvious examples of ways to use your free time. But not everyone can create the best fade away shot in America. Not everyone can just do what other people do in order to get the most out of their life.
For Steve Jobs and Michael Jordan, it seemed obvious what their free time should look like. Their free time reflected their gifting and interest. You might think it would be easy for anyone else to find that but not everyone knows their calling. Not everyone can see the thing that needs to be done in order to live out their best life. There really is no one way to live life. You have to try random roads to find your right path. I have heard many stories of people that found their passion in passing. They were doing another mundane thing and then noticed a business that the community needed. A good friend of mine was pregnant in her car and wanted ice cream before she went home. She noticed there wasn't an ice cream shop around her city. Now she has one owned and operated. It’s going well. The thing is this was not obvious that it should be done. Life is often not obvious. It’s a mixed bag of guesses and chances.
Many people practiced shooting basketball that never became a basketball player. Many people played with electronics that never created a brand new device for mass reproduction. The way life is built everyone can do things everyone else does but life will not always respond the same to everyone. Imagine Michael Jordan is famous for selling ice cream. It’s nice but it’s not the same. What they did in their free time really affected their whole life. So i want to list a few things that I think are important. Jesus is someone who I believe in and I think what he did in this world is something worth talking about. The type of person he was is striking. He was born 2000 years ago but is still considered one of the greatest people that ever lived. Many people have gained a religion from his teachings and continue to seek spiritual fulfillment through his way of living. So here are three things Jesus did that show a life worth living.
Jesus healed people. This is the thing that drew a lot of people to him. He was able to make sick people well. He was able to take people that felt hopeless and give them hope. The common man loved Jesus. The religious men respected his wisdom and insight into the ways of the world. Before his death, powerful men like Pontious Pilate questioned his views on the world. Jesus set out in his free time to interact with people. This is one of the things I don’t do well as an introvert. What I’ve come to understand is that Jesus made his life and perspective available to people. It set Him apart. He put himself in people’s lives. He related to them where they were and used their everyday life to relate to an eternal God. Part of healing is learning to relate to people. Many people are dealing with pain simply because they have no one to relate to. It may be the pain of change or an achy breaky heart. When we learn to relate to each other instead of judging one another for our issues we not only become more like Jesus but we allow ourselves to grow more into the person God meant us to be.
Jesus prayed. In his free time, there was a weird thing that happens often. Especially after the really big moments of Jesus’s popularity. He would go and pray alone. Jesus would feed 5000 and go pray in a mountain. He would heal a lot of people and then seclude himself to seek God. He would prove religious leaders wrong, talk to a crowd and convince them all of his messages and then he would walk off alone and meditate. Every time Jesus was popular he would do something that pulled away from the excitement of the moment. To Jesus, it seemed that a prayer life was just as important as social life. Jesus was one of the greatest thinkers and motivators of our world. He could have taken over Rome. He could have become the most powerful man in Jerusalem. He could have grown a Christian community that would be undeniable for millions of generations. Instead, Jesus leads by example. He showed us that the most important moments in a person's life is not just in front of the crowd but behind them as well. Who you are when you are alone is more important than who you are around everyone else.
Jesus led by example. According to the world's standards, Jesus wasn't really that great. He wouldn't have made the Forbes list. He wasn't a world-renowned teacher in the synagogues. He didn't start trends that people could follow easily. But according to faith standards, Jesus did everything God called Him to do. He didn’t force the disciples to pray at certain times. He prayed so effectively that the disciples asked him how he prayed. Jesus taught so well that after the crowds lost interest the disciples admitted that they had no desire to leave Jesus. Peter told Jesus, “Lord, where would we go”? Jesus had so much integrity that after his death burial and resurrection his disciples boldly proclaimed him to everyone that would listen. Integrity is the thing that sets our life up to become more than the status quo. Integrity is being committed when you don't have to be. It's undivided attention to the smallest commitments you make to yourself. The Bible said that people were amazed by Peter speaking about Jesus because they could tell he wasn’t educated. Peter wasn't bold because he could finally fit in with educated people, he was bold because he was educated with a life full of integrity. After Jesus returned Peter lived a life of being honest with his experience with Jesus. The life of Jesus pulls a purpose and ability out of people they didn’t even know they had.
Outside looking in, it would look like the life of Jesus was wasted on a generation that would never care about him. But from a 2000-year-old view of the life of Jesus, this dude killed it. This life has so much pressure for us all to look as busy as everyone else. Complete the latest trend to turn the most amount of numbers. I am not saying anything is wrong with these things. What I am getting at is Jesus obeyed God and that was enough for Him to be the person He was meant to be. Men change the world every day by being amazing and completing unbelievable feats. However, Jesus simply understood, prayed, and lead by example with the people around him. It may not seem that is a worthy life but Jesus proves it is. May it be enough for all of us to get the most out of our free time and live a life that's more than looks.
コメント