“Our hearts stay clean by keeping our hands dirty in service with the Lord in loving people well.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – July 6, 2022
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
I have mixed emotions returning from vacation. Mostly, I am rested and revived; but a part of me wants to remain at the beach or linger in the mountains without deadlines, bills to pay or problems to solve. This suspended time of freedom from responsibilities, I have to admit, is tempting to wish for all the time. Staying up late, sleeping in, eating more fried foods, reading and having uninterrupted conversations with my sweetheart is heavenly. Fun, but only for a limited time.
I have to remind myself that vacations are meaningful, but they are not real life. If my life were a continuous vacation, it would cease to be a vacation. I would not be vacating from work and the real world; I would be in my own little world without true meaning and purpose. Only vacations with a limited shelf life are appetizing and enjoyable, otherwise they lose their novelty. Vacations are the Lord’s reward for hard work and faithful stewardship. We vacate to recalibrate.
“All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 2:23).
A mind without rest becomes restless, drifting from its purpose. A mind with too much margin becomes marginalized. Thus, we seek a healthy mixture of work and play, reading to learn and to relax, traveling and spending time at home. Our goal is not a life of leisure to spend on ourselves, our goal is to stay engaged in growing God’s Kingdom. Our hearts stay clean by keeping our hands dirty in service. Our investment in others creates unlimited fulfillment.
Have you taken an extended vacation from serving in your church or community? Or, is it time for a vacation so you can recalibrate for Christ? Either way, see vacations as a means to an end, not the long-term goal. Even retirement years are an opportunity to reengage in mentoring and discipleship. Spiritual, emotional, financial and face time availability are God’s gifts to invest in others. Use limited vacations to seek the unlimited opportunities of engaging in God’s Kingdom.
“But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides” (Matthew 6:33, AMP).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, lead me into a healthy time allocation of vacating from work and engaging in Your Kingdom activities, through Christ our Lord, amen.
Application
How can I channel my new found energy into helping a hurting heart?
Related Reading
Ecclesiastes 3:9-14; Isaiah 28:24; Romans 11:23; 2 Thessalonians 3:11
Worship Resource
Hillsong Worship: Take Heart
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