Busy, Busy, Busy...doing what?

We're all busy. Work and play and exercise and kids and church and community and...and...and.... We fill our days from sunrise to well-past sunset with activities, but do we really have a purpose in all that activity?

Jesus knew the day He entered Jerusalem amongst the crowds chanting "Hosanna" that each minute mattered. Between that Sunday and the following Thursday (Passover) He cleared the temple, taught about prayer, defended His authority, taught about His purpose (in the form of a parable), discussed paying taxes, debated with a Sadducee, commended a Pharisee, warned the people about showy religious leaders, talked about the end of the earth, spent an evening in Bethany, and exhorted His followers to "Watch." (And that's just in the book of Mark!)

Not one moment was wasted, not one opportunity passed over. Every word He spoke was important and His sense of urgency is unmistakeable. Even if Facebook was part of the culture then as it is now, He didn't have time for frivolities like Farmville and Mafia Wars.


Jesus focused His attention on the critically important things--those things that people needed to know in order to keep their faith in the coming dark days. In the clearing of the temple, He taught that we must not allow material things to come between us and God. In cursing the fig tree, He taught that prayer is powerful. By defending His authority before the Sadducee and commending the wise Pharisee He revealed that He knows the motivations of man and that nothing is hidden from Him. When He warned against proud religious leaders, He gave people permission to question authority and to test their actiosn and words. He recognized the widow's small offering as superior to show us that the heart of the giver is more important than the amount of the gift. In His teachings of the end times, He gave a hope and a future to all the generations that came after. And finally, at Bethany, when Mary poured expensive perfume over Him, He comforted those who give all they have to serve Him.

How much time do I fritter away on insignificant things when there are so many needs around me? How often do I miss the teachable moments---for myself, my children, my friends? I must refocus my mind so that I use my time the way Jesus did, with priority on the really important things. Let me not get so caught up in the frivolous trivia that I miss the meaning of the message!