Setting aside busyness

The end of the year and start of a new year, busyness is not far away, and for some it has already started! One of the most common words spoken out at Christmas are “peace on earth; goodwill toward men” from Luke 14. In some churches there is the greeting “peace of Christ to you” and the response given is usually “… and with you”. These are well meant sentiments but are they being lived out daily through our marriages, families and life. Regrettably the peace in marriage and families is broken at this time of year through the busyness we get ourselves into.

Some years ago   author Max Lucado wrote in the US  ‘The Word for You Today Devotional’ : “The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling…Mary looks into the face of her Son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point the human being who best understands who God is and what He’s doing, is a teenage girl…She remembers the angel’s words, ‘His kingdom will never end.’ Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Honor in the filth of manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable. This baby had once overlooked the universe. His robes of eternity were exchanged for the rags keeping Him warm. His golden throne room abandoned in favor of a dirty sheep pen. Worshipping angels replaced with shepherds.

Meanwhile the city hums, unaware that God has visited their planet. The innkeeper would never believe he’d just sent God out into the cold. And people would scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay in the arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their village. They were all too busy to consider the possibility. But those who missed His Majesty’s arrival that night missed it not because of acts of evil or malice. No, they missed it because they weren’t looking for HIM!”

It is our hope, our prayer that all in the church set aside their busyness, and not just at this time, to seek out the Lord and spend time with Him. Growing our relationship with Jesus, for we the church are His bride, and those of us in the church who are married have the challenge “This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one” Ephesians 5:32 [NLT]

Marriage is of God’s design and for His purposes and our ministry to marriages should be nothing less than that for our children's, youth, men or women's ministries.