My thoughts stray back to the spiritual shoe shop. The other
day I mentioned that in prayerfully donning the spiritual armour, I had the
thought that the shoes of the readiness to share the good news that the kingdom
of God is near (Ephesians 6) should be dancing shoes. The good news is so good
that we should be dancing with joy, whether or not we are talking about the
Kingdom.
Then the other night I had one of those nights. I awoke
about 2 am and for some reason my brain kicked in and I began listing all the
responsibilities I have within the church context, many of which are about to
resume as schools go back. My eyes were wide open and I flipped and flopped in
the bed as anxiety rose within me.
And I thought, my dancing shoes are morphing into concrete
shoes as I sink beneath the waves of items on my to-do list. The joy is
draining away.
That’s not right. I’m reminded of Mary and Martha. Mary,
Jesus told Martha, made the best choice when she abandoned the household chores
in order to sit at his feet and soak in what he was saying and who he was.
When people criticise Christians for being without humour,
perhaps we have changed our dancing shoes for concrete ones. Exchanged our joy
for worldly anxiety.
Jesus invites us to come to him and do it his way. That takes
self-discipline. It’s much more natural for me to rush around, driven by the
tasks on my list, than to slip into the lay-by and rest in God.
But right now I’m headed for the lay-by. How about you?
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