School Days

John 12:8 “For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

Living such a short distance to our children’s elementary school gives my wife Kate and I the opportunity to walk our son Jacob to and from school. I know this may sound like some great quality family time but most days, for a six year old, this walk looks like Jacob getting excited about finding dead frogs/snakes/etc…on the road and me feeling the pressure of the day piling up as we stroll down the street together.  Last week, it was Kate’s turn to pick up Jacob and it couldn’t have been a better day. I was slammed at work…back to back to back zooms and phone calls with my email inbox piling by the moment, I was relieved that I would have a few extra moments that day to help solve the world’s problems…or at least that’s what I like to believe of myself 🙂

Then the text came through from Kate…we have all been there…plans have changed and she needed me. In my mind, I had no time for this…not today…there were too many important things that needed to be done. A bit frustrated to say the least, not at Kate, but at the situation and that life in general presented the daily challenge of so much to do and not enough time to do it. I’m sure you can identify with me here in your own life and circumstances. Then, the question remains, what are we to do in these situations?

In John 12 we see an example given by Jesus of how to approach our “self created full lives” that we live.  We see an act performed by one of Jesus’ closest friends that has helped to reorient me personally. Just days before the passover festival and the beginning of Jesus’ public humiliation and eventual death, we find Jesus in the home of Lazarus having dinner. Lazarus had just been raised from the dead which was the final trigger for the Jewish leadership to plot to kill Jesus. Tensions are certainly high, there is much to do in preparation for passover and each of Jesus’ disciples must be feeling the pressure of the world as it is becoming more and more risky to associate with Him. 

However, in the midst of this chaotic time, we find Mary once again, having the right perspective and approach to her relationship with Jesus. She takes some expensive oil and uses it to clean the feet of Jesus and is immediately criticized for wasting this valuable resource by her peers. Jesus speaks up and reminds us in verse 8 of such a crucial and often hidden truth in our lives. Jesus is not displaying a lack of compassion for the poor, on the contrary, he is reminding us that our work here on earth, even righteous causes like caring for the poor, cannot take priority over our relationship and love for God.

In that moment of plans changing before my eyes and suddenly realizing all that I would not get done for the day, I had a choice to make. I could either listen to the Holy Spirit which was telling me to put aside the things I thought I needed to get done or keep plowing ahead and ignore the opportunity to love and serve my family who needed me. When we hear from the Lord and choose to obey he doesn’t always confirm for us right then and there why He had us do something in a different way…but sometimes he does.

As I picked up Jacob from school excited to see him, he greeted me with the response that every parent wants to hear…”I want to go back to school”. Part of me glad that he loved the day but the other part of me asking, “does my presence here even matter”. My typical routine is to grill him with questions about his day to which he usually obliges. This time I heard the voice of the Lord again though still feeling frustrated that I had to alter my day and walk in silence with my son when “the world needed me”. It was as if He was speaking John 12:8 to me in that moment. 

As we neared home having walked nearly the entire 12 minute walk in silence, Jacob slipped his hand in mine and started to tell me of his entire day and how proud he was of his many accomplishments and friendships that he had made. It wasn’t instant gratification for the choice I made in listening to the Lord, but it was pretty close. God is always speaking to us and my prayer for you and me is that we will take the time to hear Him. There will always be more to do that can ever get done, but if we fail to prioritize hearing from the Lord, we will labor in vain and miss the presence of the Lord to be fully known in our lives. 

DAVE PARKS
STATE DIRECTOR