Wandering Hearts 2: Busyness

What’s the first thing you’re going to do after the shelter-at-home ends? As South Africa's strict lockdown enters its fifth week, I find myself thinking more and more about things I want to do.

The first two verses of Colossians 3 tell us that since we’re no longer who we used to be, we must set our hearts and minds on things above. And what I do is one of those things "below" that my heart and mind get distracted by—I can be preoccupied by my occupation.

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An awkward visit

Imagine we invited some friends over, but mopped the floors and washed dishes while they sat alone in our living room. Wouldn't that be awkward! That's the scenario that Martha found herself in according to Luke 10. She was busy with preparations while Mary and others sat in the lounge with Jesus. Frustrated, she asked Jesus to confront Mary for not helping with the work. Jesus' response wasn't quite what she expected.

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
​Luke 10:41-42

Note that Jesus didn’t say not to do the work: he said not to be preoccupied with it.  When we’re worried and upset and distracted with our work, we’ve forgotten the point, or the purpose. In Martha’s case, the point was to honor her guest. But honor is empty when relationship is neglected.

​Relationship comes first, and work must be motivated by relationship.

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Don't forget the point!

​In Revelation 2, Jesus addresses a church in Ephesus with a very similar struggle. He commends their amazing work, their values, and their perseverance. But they've forgotten the point: they're all about their work and have forgotten their first love. Jesus instructs them to repent and return to “the former things”.

Proverbs 3:6 encourages us to acknowledge the Lord in all of our ways. The promise is that he will direct our paths, but the principle is that he is first. He is the point!

David says this in Psalm 27:4: “One thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek the most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”

It’s easy for me to get lost in the things in my calendar and forget my “One Thing”.

Like Martha, I find myself preoccupied with the details and missing intimate times at Jesus’ feet. Or like the church in Ephesus, I'm busy with all the good work and perseverance, but neglecting my relationship with Him—my first love.

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Follow Me

When Jesus called his disciples, he gave each of them the same calling: “Follow me.” We are called first to relationship, not to tasks, work, or some office.

So, what do I want to do when the lockdown is over? I want to follow Jesus, more focused than ever before. I want to remain focused on him as my One Thing, my First Love.

I don't want my heart to wander away from him, lost in the weeds of my calendar or task list.

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Some helpful tools

They say there's an app for everything. While we can't ask our smartphones to take care of our devotion to Christ for us, there are some tools that can help us with our personal pursuit of him.

Lectio 365 is a devotional tool that helps believers learn to pray according to scripture.

Lectio 365

Daily SOAP is an app that helps you with devotional time in the Word. SOAP ("Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer") is a great tool for interacting with a passage of scripture, allowing the Lord to speak to you, and responding in prayer.

Daily SOAP