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Lessons
It is the first day of the Quarter at the college where I work. They warned me about it. I had hoped they were exaggerating. They weren't. I'm on the phone answering the same question I have already answered ten times this morning. It requires a detailed answer. The caller is writing the information down ... taking her time. At my counter is someone impatiently waiting for a parking permit. Behind her is a student wanting an enrollment verification for his insurance company. And someone else wants a map of the college. "Name ... date of birth ... what else?" The caller asks. Two more incoming calls light up my phone. My computer dings. I have e-mail. Do I want to read it now? It asks. Behind me, the fax machine begins to whirl out yet another transcript request. It's been like this all morning, and everything in me wants to say, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Time for Christianity 201-Basics in Shoe Leather. How did Jesus do it?
When the crowds were pressing in on Him, everyone wanting something from
Him ... how did He remain calm, focused?
I've been reading Max Lucado's In the Eye of the Storm searching for the
answer. He says that Jesus knew the value of people. He didn't see crowds;
He saw individuals. He didn't see requests; He saw need. And He kept in
touch with His Father, retreating often to spend time in prayer.
I think there is a part of me that still hopes to some day find spiritual "Easy Street/, where being a Christian does not require effort, submission, a conscious, constant laying down of my life ... The truth is that this life of ours is the spiritual equivalent of boot camp. We are in training, constantly being shaped and molded in the image of our Lord.
What aspect of Jesus' life is your Father teaching you through your circumstances? Have you ever wondered about that?
Through it alt Jesus never forgot Who He was. It was His identity that shaped the purpose of His life. And we can't forget who we are either children of the Most High. I long for the day when the family resemblance will be noticeable.
This Quarter I will take a 10 minute break to go look at the sky. Its vast, unhurried majesty will remind me Who my Father is ... and who I am-His child, sent to serve and die that I may truly live.
-Maria Lund