When I was in high school, I was busy. Scratch that. I was BEYOND busy. In April of my senior year, I was an officer for three clubs, directing a One Act Play, attending a youth retreat, getting ready for prom, studying for an AP test, applying for scholarships, planning a graduation party, and trying not to succumb to the drug that was senioritis. I barely had time for anything. Most nights I didn’t get home until 7:30, and then my nights were either spent doing homework or watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S. with my family. I wasn’t living, I was just surviving.
One of the really cool things about the college I chose to attend is Bible class. Every morning at 8 AM I climb two flights of stairs (they get me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.) to sit with sixteen other college freshmen and learn about the life and teachings of Jesus. We were in Mark 6 studying about the feeding of the 5,000. I’ll be honest - I wasn’t sure how much I’d learn about the feeding of the 5,000. I mean, I’d grown up hearing about it my whole life. Jesus took two fish and five loaves of bread and fed 5,000 men and there were twelve baskets leftover. It’s simple. I was so, so wrong.
As my professor talked about Mark 6, he asked us two questions that shook my world. The first: Do we assume scarcity or abundance? The feeding of the 5,000 was proof that Jesus is abundance. The second is this: What if I had all the time in the world? Now that got me. What would I do differently if I had all the time in the world? My first thought: SLEEP. But let’s be real, I wouldn’t sleep forever. I’d get bored. So really, what WOULD I do if I had all the time in the world? I think I’d love people differently. I’ll be honest, there are times I’ve left early from some event because I had too much to do. I’ve disengaged from conversations because I’m too busy thinking about which essay I’m going to write first. I just don’t take the time to develop relationships with people. When I really take a step back, I wonder how I got here. When did my schoolwork become more important than loving people? When did my success become more important than doing the work Jesus put me on this earth to do? I don’t think I’m the only one fighting for air under the weight of my business.
God’s been teaching me a lot about rest the past two months. I’ve spent more time just being in His creation and with His people than I ever have before. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent just talking to people. Engaging in relationship with them. Learning to love them the way Jesus did. I have enough time. I have enough time to sleep. I have enough time to meet a friend for coffee. I have enough time to call my family and friends from back home, even if it’s not as often as I should. Even right now while I’m writing this I have a ten page research paper to write, half an autobiography to finish, three tests to study for, and two chapters to read, but I’m not concerned. I’ll get it all done. My God is a God of rest. He designed me to spend time in rest, and I’ve found that it’s a lot easier to find His peace and His joy when I do. I have enough time. And my friend, you do too. He cares more about our love for each other than He does about our GPA, or our position at work, or the cleanliness of our house. When you take the time to rest in Him, and you take the time to rest in His people, He’ll give you the time to get your work done.
My friend, what if you had all the time in the world?