Investing long-term

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Jesus--in John 13:35 (NRSV)

In a recent conversation with Roger Howell, the CEO of City Ministries--a premier urban mission here in Cincinnati--I asked him what factor seemed to be more important than any other in the transformation of a person's life. What main key is most instrumental in helping a person to be more Christ-like in character and able to function well in the world? His answer was RELATIONSHIPS.

In a recent conversation with a long-time friend of mine, he asked how long I thought it had been since we last talked. I said I wasn't sure, but that it had probably been two or three months. He replied, "Did you know my wife is pregnant?" "No," I said. "Uhh, well, she is…and the due date is next month." Obviously my friend and I had not recently invested much time in our relationship!

And that's the conundrum. We need good healthy relationships to make progress toward who God has created us to be, and having good healthy relationships takes a substantial investment of time and energy and money, but other things desire our time and energy and money as well!

My prayer for all of us is that we will realize more fully that it is our relationships have the potential to last forever, and that we will have the courage and fortitude to invest our time, energy and resources in those relationships. It will be then that other people will recognize that we are serious about being who Jesus wants us to be, and it will be then that our lives will have the joy that God desires for us.

On letting Jesus focus us...

Jesus has visited the home of Martha, who was busy with meal preparations as her sister Mary came and sat listening to Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus responded:

"Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; ⁴² there is need of only one thing.^” Luke 10:41-42 (NRSV)

Isn’t it incredible how easy it is to get distracted from what’s truly important in a given situation? This summer I was standing in the surf with my feet inching deeper into the sand as the waves lapped at my shins--when suddenly I realized that my jaw was clinched, my shoulders were tight, and my mind was pondering some questions and issues that had plagued me before I left for vacation. Aghast at my waste of the serenity that was immediately at hand, I resolved to focus on the relationships and beauty before me and quickly gathered my boys together for a game of ‘jump over the waves’…thankful to Jesus for helping me to remember that there was a ‘greater thing’ immediately at hand than worrying about problems.

What is Jesus telling you today? I pray you can pause in the midst of the distractions to allow Him, the Ultimate “One Thing” that is the center of our lives, to speak to you.