Seek First

Sometimes I think its too easy to get caught up in the busyness of the world --- working 10-12 hours a day, kids, activities such as rowing, working out, and just doing "stuff" --- that we lose sight of what's most important.

UT President-to-be, Powers, tells a story:
A professor fills a vat with rocks, then asks his students whether it is full. Of course, they say. Then the professor pours pebbles into the vat and asks whether it is now full. Yes, the students say. He adds fine sand, poses the same question and gets the same answer. Finally, he adds water.

What, asks the professor, is the moral of the story? There's always room to add something, the students reply. Wrong, the professor says. The moral is if you want to get the big rocks in, you've got to put them in first.

Put the big rocks in first. Sometimes our hands are so full of fine sand, that we can't hold the big rocks.

But what are the big rocks? What is the fine sand?

For me, the past several weeks have been "busy". Work, family, and planning for the future take up so much time. However, the spiritual side - the things of God - have fallen by the wayside.

Jesus tells a story of a busy person in Luke:
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)

While Martha was busy, albiet with good intentions, Mary has chosen to focus on Jesus. Jesus' response is: Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.

What are our priorities? What are God's priorities? Are the rocks we are focusing on big rocks or fine sand in God's eyes?

God's purpose is to build a spirtual kingdom. Our physical needs are inconsequential to our spiritual needs.

We don't want to trade the things that are eternal for the things that are passing.