ROOM FOR JESUS – DAY 2 of 8

Yesterday, at a women’s tea, one of the “get to know you” question was about leisure activities. If I had a day off, how would I spend my time? My sister and I both said “shopping”. The “with my sister” part was implied. We do love to shop, whether we buy something or not. Shopping involves a lot of talking and laughing and bonding. Often, there is very little buying. Except for lattes. There are always lattes.

Is there room for Jesus in your shopping? Other than work, this may be the number one way that we interact with people we don’t know to be believers, and we have the greatest opportunity to stand out from the crowd as believers ourselves. I’m thinking about how we treat those hired to serve us in our shopping.

Is there room for Jesus in how we treat the waitstaff at restaurants, especially when the food is not right. Is there room for Jesus in how we treat the checkout folks at the grocery clothing store when the lines are long? Is there room for Jesus in how we treat the airline staff when the flight is delayed, and you are going to miss your grandchild’s birthday because of it?

These are the times that try our patience. These are the times that can stretch and expand the place of the Holy Spirit in us. These are the times when we can stand out as those for whom love is more important than anything else.

Given the times He lived in, we know Jesus didn’t face the same shopping frustrations as we do. He was never impacted by a late flight. But issues like this often come down to shared resources and how we react when they are scarce. He did have to deal with that.

Here are a few incidents to consider and discuss how they might apply to our lives today.

1.        When the Pharisees accused the disciples of breaking the Sabbath.

2.        When followers were tired and hungry.

3.        When people followed Him out of town and interrupted what was supposed to be His time for recharging to ask for healing.

The way I see it is that Jesus’ reaction in both cases was to focus on compassion. He showed that caring for other humans and their needs was more important that other considerations.

My father used to have a saying that was something like, “If you kids fight now, when we have plenty, what will you do when things are scare?”. I think about that when I see people cussing out a ticket counter agent over a delayed flight.

What other places and buying situations can you think of where room for Jesus would cause you to react differently?

Life can be frustrating. Decisions of others can inconvenience us, cost us money, waste our time. In this case, I am not asking you to consider situations that might endanger you.

I’m asking if when everyday life, like shopping, flying or driving, gets frustrating, is there room for Jesus in how you respond? As my father was trying to impress upon my siblings and me, the way you react in these inconvenient or frustrating situations now is practice for the day that a greater call to respond like Jesus may occur.

Is there room for Jesus in the day-to-day frustrations of living?

I welcome your comments and questions along the way. You can write me in the comments/chat section or any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org