For the most part, interruptions drive me CRAZY! I have MY agenda, my plans, my projects and I don’t have time to be interrupted. Not only that, but I’m busy doing what I need to be doing; and if I get interrupted, that means it won’t get done. (Sound familiar to you?)
Let’s look at a day in Jesus’ life. He started out teaching his disciples, then the Pharisees were there putting their twist on things. And then….
Matt 9: 18While he was saying this, (Jesus had been teaching in the previous passage) a ruler came and knelt before him and said, "My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live." 19Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. 20Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed." 22Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment. 23When Jesus entered the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, 24he said, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him. 25After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26News of this spread through all that region. 27As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" 28When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" "Yes, Lord," they replied. 29Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; 30and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this." 31But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region. 32While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel." (NIV)
Jesus was interrupted constantly during his ministry. The passage above lists 5 interruptions in only 16 verses! A few more examples: the man that was lowered through the roof, while Jesus was trying to teach (Luke 5:18); blind Bartimaeus who wouldn’t stop calling Jesus’ name (Mark 10:46); Nicodemus, the Pharisee, questioning Jesus at night (John 3); the sinful woman who washed his feet with tears and dried them with her hair while Jesus was attending a dinner in someone else’s home (Luke 7:36-50).
But you see that’s just another difference between Jesus and me. Each time that Jesus was interrupted, he didn’t say, “Yeah, I’ll be with you in a sec.” OR “I can maybe get to that next Tuesday.” Not “You’ve got to be kidding. Can’t you see I’m swamped here?” When Jesus was interrupted, someone’s life was changed.
Have you ever noticed? Interruptions are what define our life and our memories. It’s not the business of going to work everyday. It’s not vacuuming. It’s not doing the laundry. It’s the interruptions. It’s the sudden phone call from a friend who has found out she has breast cancer. It’s the terminal illness of your parent. It’s the nearly fatal car wreck of your spouse. It’s standing for an hour at a funeral visitation. It’s the tiny hospital room where you sat by your child’s side for days on end. In those “interruptions,” we have a chance to be Jesus to someone. No, you can’t give sight to the blind and make the lame walk; but you can show love, give comfort, empathize, and sometimes- just be there.
Why do we let interruptions in our life upset us? These events, annoyances, disasters, crisis are the things that our lives are made of. Are we missing opportunities, because we view them as interruptions to OUR plans? Since when did God say life was going to go according to OUR plans??
“Eph 2: 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (NIV)
This week as life throws you a curve ball, remember to take the opportunity God has given you to change someone’s life. It’s what Jesus Would do!
As I look back over my life, I can see that it’s the “interruptions” that I remember most. God, help me to embrace these opportunities to “do good works.” And God, when I become an interruption to others, Help them have the patience and the right words to be Jesus to me. Never let me be SO SELFISH that I miss a chance to show Your love to someone who desperately needs You at that very moment in my life. Help me see that how I respond to these “opportunities”defines who I am and how important YOU ARE to me.
