Come with me…
January 30, 2009
Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. Mark 6: 31
The disciples just returned from a tour of announcing and demonstrating the arrival of God’s Kingdom. They were so busy helping and interacting with other people, they did not even have time to eat. Jesus aware of their condition has one thing to say, “Come with me by yourselves, to a quiet place and get some rest.”
As the pace of life continues to speed up and the people who make up our “societies of Jesus” get busier and busier, doing more and more, we are headed toward disaster. The disciples had Jesus. One of the things Jesus offered his followers was a healthy rhythm of life. Part of Jesus way of life was to often withdraw to a solitary place to enjoy intimacy with his Father. It must have been very natural for Jesus, when he observed his followers “red-lining” to say, “Come with me by yourselves, to a quiet place an get some rest.”
Think about your faith community for a second. Who is the one who can say, “Come with me by yourselves, to a quiet place and get some rest?” Is the Lord inviting you to rhythm that includes times of solitude and rest, for your own health and for the health of others?
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The verse quoted here gives a partial answer to the quest I’m currently in. I’m a young guy from the Netherlands searching for meaning, for truth. Where the world around me is concerned with career and success I also have the longing to be relevant. Jesus’ truth is more concerned with being than with doing. With rest and waiting than with working and helping. Still, it’s hard to grasp this.
Kees,
Happy questing!
John 1:1 says that Jesus was the Word. This means he was the fullness of the meaning and truth of God. In Jesus, I am convinced you will find meaning and truth. In fact, I would say Jesus is meaning, and Jesus is Truth (I am the Truth). Meaning and truth as philosophical ideas have little reward. Put flesh on them and you have ultimate meaning and truth. That’s Jesus.
Jesus was always deeply concerned about our fruitfulness. But he wants fruit that comes from abiding (resting and waiting) in Him. fruit is the visible result of good nurture. Does he want us to do? Yes, very much so. But not the kind of busy doing Jamie is warning us about.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face to shine upon you and give you the desires of your heart.
In this morning’s reading in Celtic Daily Prayer, there is this from Anne Morrow Lindbergh.
It is a difficult
lesson to learn today,
to leave one’s friends
and family and deliberately
practice the art of solitude
for an hour or a day
or a week.
For me, the break
is most difficult …
And yet, once it is done,
I find there is a quality
to being alone that is
incredibly precious.
Life rushes back into the void,
richer,
more vivid,
fuller than before!
Kees,
Thanks for sharing. I too consider myself to be on a quest after Truth. It is great to know others are honestly searching as well. Grace and Peace to you my friend!