By Tommy Rush
The past two years have been a reminder for most of us that we were made for personal contact. God created human beings to be relational. I’ve always struggled with communicating through text messages or social media, because I’m more of a face to face, personal visit kind of person. When I feel the need to “meet” with someone, that usually means more to me than giving them a call or sending them a message. To meet with someone requires more effort, intentionality and in most cases a greater commitment on my part. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy the ability to FaceTime and text my grandchildren who live in Virginia, but I would much prefer visiting with them on a porch swing or taking a walk with them in person.
Every parent who loves their family understands the struggle of keeping a good balance between responsibilities and relationships. I’ve heard it said that love is best spelled, “TIME.” There’s been many days when I’ve felt a sense of burden for neglecting my family or giving them my leftover time because I was too “busy” with ministry responsibilities or other things that I felt the need to take care of. It’s so easy to allow responsibilities to squeeze out relationships. Maybe you have had a similar experience or you’re feeling that squeeze today. I would encourage you to “meet” with the people in your life who love you. Be a blessing to your family!
The Bible tells us that Jesus often pulled away from the crowds in order to spend time in prayer with His Father. Yes, there was unfinished work to do, there were people to respond to, there were needs to meet, but Jesus refused to sacrifice the relationship for the responsibilities. Jesus taught clearly that one relationship is simply too valuable to neglect. Your relationship with God is not only the most important relationship of all, it is the source of real life and peace. Frankly, for some who consider themselves Christians, your life is so full of activities and busyness that meeting with God has been missing in your daily schedule for way too long. The result, you well know, is an unexplainable sense of aloneness, and a growing sense of distance and coldness between you and the One who loves you more than anyone else in the world.
Have you “met” with the people you love today? Have you “met” with God today? If you had to cancel everything on your to-do lists today but one thing, would the one thing left be spending time with God and the people you love? If not, I encourage you to make it a priority. I truly believe it will make a major difference!
