2/03/2015

Sucking the life out of you

In this week’s Bible reading from Mark 1:29-39, Jesus was tired. He’d been talking and healing. People were following him everywhere. I can imagine that the pace and the crowds were sucking the life out of him. Instead of being energized by the crowd and all the hoopla, Jesus needed to recharge – get away from it all.

So he disappeared. He went away from it all – to a deserted place. He probably breathed deep and took in the blessed solitude as he prayed.

And the disciples didn’t get it. They hunted for him. They had a schedule to keep. They had people to please. When they found him they even scolded him. "Everyone is searching for you."  I can imagine the  words were spoken not with care and concern, but rather with “I’m tearing my hair out and you’re not helping anything!” emotions.

I think others in Jesus’ situation might have said, “So?! Let everyone wait! I need a break! Just leave me alone for a little while -- I’ll find you when I’m ready for everyone.” I think Jesus probably wanted to say something like that – or perhaps something a little stronger.

Instead, I imagine he took a deep breath when he then said – “Let’s go. Let’s go to some of the smaller places. I think those folks need to see and hear all this, too.”

I do think that Jesus found time to rejuvenate by traveling to the smaller places where folks hadn’t yet heard as much of him.

Good for him.
  • Are there times, places, and life situations where your energy is being sucked dry?
  • Do you need to get away from it all, take a deep breath, and experience the rejuvenating solitude?
  • What is sucking the life out of you?

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