The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
I find this amazing. Why? Well... if I were exhausted from serving people all day and decided to get away to a quiet place with my buddies, but found that MORE people were IN our quiet place, wanting MORE from us...man. I wonder if I would have compassion on them and desire to minister to them like Jesus did. Sadly, I think my first thought would be : "What are you DOING in MY quiet place!? I need to rest! Get out!
Hopefully, Christ has taught me more. More patience. More grace.
What would your response be? Who tests your patience? Maybe they don't even deserve your patience, but what does Christ teach us? : To give it anyhow. That's grace. I know. Sometimes that seems impossible. The great thing is we don't count on our own strength to do it. We count on God's strength. The angel Gabriel told Mary: "Nothing is impossible with God."
My encouragement to you: The next time you find yourself short on patience and grace, ask God to give you the perspective that Christ shows us in Mark 6:34. Look at "the crowd". Have compassion on them, then give them more patience...more grace.
2 comments:
I know about patience and grace, but what about the echoes and silence?
foo fighters unite :-)
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