You can quote me

WELCOME BACK STUDENTS! It is good to be blogging again. My apologies to James for not blogging over the break. I really wanted to but just did not want to enter the blog world. And, for better or for worse, my counter number is distorted because you've all been checking to see if I was writing yet again or not. But I finally went over the 1000 mark which is both humbling (that you would come check out my blog) and a tempting source of pride! :)

Here is the quote I thought of last week while driving to the Student Center returning from Wal-Mart.

"Jesus never turned anyone away, but he did occasionally hide from the crowds."

For me this captures a very difficult tension for anyone who is trying to live like Jesus. When he was around people, he gave them 100% of his attention. He was fully present and available to the crowds every time he was among them. But Jesus would also sneak into lonely places for prayer and quiet time from time-to-time and the crowds would comment how they had been looking for him. Jesus knew he could not be available all of the time or the crowds would drain him spiritually. I know it was the quiet time with the Father that helped him defend himself to Pharisees, teach his slow-thinking disciples and heal every person that came near him.
Do you understand the tension? Which side of the tension do you like more? Being around people constantly can produce burnout because you never rest, God isn't able to search your heart, and thus, you no longer grow. Never doing ministry for others means you have missed the meaning of the gospel--it's good news! You're supposed to share it! Be careful of each extreme and live in the tension.
Love you all!