Too Busy

The 21st century has a unique way of complicating and filling up our lives. I've certainly heard many people say that life is so much more complicated than it used to be, or that everyone is just so busy these days. It seems as though the default is to fill our lives with endless things, but it's worth asking: are the things with which we're filling our lives filling our souls, or just our schedules?

If everyone's so busy, what are we so busy doing? How do these things actually contribute to our well-being? The reality is that life isn't actually all that more complicated. We are just offered more things to complicate it with. At Pentecost, 3000 people put their faith in Jesus after hearing Peter's message. We read that these new believers devoted themselves to fellowship; they met every day.

Even back then, this would have had a cost. A lot of these people would have come to Jerusalem only intending to attend the festival. Their lives, homes, and families would have been in other cities and countries. They put all of that on hold because they believed in the importance of fellowship with other believers. When others sold property and possessions, a big part of that would have been to ensure these visitors were cared for. The community shared the burden and devoted themselves to fellowship because they believed in the mission and the newborn community of faith.

While I'm sure they eventually returned home to their families, these new believers were willing to put everything on hold to devote themselves to fellowship, the apostles' teaching, and to prayer. They took the time to reshape their lives around their newfound relationship with Jesus.

If our faith is only trying to cram time for Jesus and for fellowship into our already busy schedules it will be just another burden. Instead of being life-giving, it'll just burn us out faster. Living a balanced life in a community isn't about trying to fit more into our lives; it's about reshaping our lives around the things that matter.

Thought Point

Do you find it easy to make time for life-giving community? Is there anything in your life that needs to stop to make room for it?

Prayer Point

Ask God to help you slow down. Invite the Spirit to reveal to you anything in your life that is a barrier to intentional community.