Go

What’s most important? I wrote several weeks ago about my schedule with football and how it felt like it pulled me away from time with my kids. And as important as that is, I know football also pulled me away from other things as well. And I’m not criticizing football or any other sport, or any of the millions of other things we can spend our time doing, but the last few weeks and even months have really tested my schedule and made me really consider what was most important.
And we know that family and loved ones should be toward the top our list, right? Spending purposeful time with those closest to us should really take a priority. But we also know our time with God should even be above that, too. Connecting with him as a heavenly Father is essential to our lives and our growth as Jesus followers.
But then there is a mess of things that can take time in our lives after those. Work and leisure and recreation and hobbies and caring for our homes and possessions and pets all take time of our lives. But then we have any number of clubs or committees or groups that we can participate in, each one seeking more and more of our time to help out.
And they can all be valuable and worthwhile, right? I thoroughly have enjoyed my time helping on the Homecoming Committee this year and plan to help as much as I’m able in the future. However, as important as supporting our local community in that way is and as enjoyable as it can be, I have to set limits on my involvement because I have other priorities in life, too.
And my point is this: how purposeful are we about how we spend our time? Let’s assume we are very good at having personal time with God and we have good quality and quantity of time with our families (which might be a big assumption). Where does the rest of our time go? We have jobs, right, so that’s a big part of it, but then we have free time that we fill with any number of things. And there’s so many valuable and worthwhile ways we can spend it. But are we purposeful about that time?
It’s easy to agree to help whenever anyone asks. In fact some of us may have issues with setting those limits. And I pray that you’re active and involved in various groups or committees that can help our community and our world. But I also pray that, as followers of Jesus, we haven’t forgotten that one of our primary roles to play in this world is “Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20 and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28.19-20, GNT) And the easiest way to do that is through serving at the church. I pray that amidst the priorities we have in life, we always remember that telling others about Jesus is essential. God bless.