What Will You Do for Jesus?
We get it; working around Sundays can be a challenging prospect. Often it seems as though the ritualistic nature of Sundays gets in the way. Amanda and I began celebrating Father/Mother’s Day a day earlier than everyone else this year. The reasoning is simple, our Sunday mornings are filled with other pertinent matters. And so, my wife, in her amazing and brilliant wisdom, decided that it would be best (read less chaotic) if we simply observed these special days a day earlier. The funny thing is it took us eight years of ministry to figure this out, although we’ve only had children for four of those years. Regardless of how long it took, this switch was transformative for our family. We were able to celebrate each other and enjoy the morning at a relaxed pace. Why were we trying to cram everything into one day? Why did we feel we needed to mash everything into a Sunday morning?
Some of that is trying to keep up with social and cultural norms. We play along with what society says and don’t consider why we are doing these things. Some of it has to do with our luxurious living, where we dedicate a whole day to a parent or person. Gone are the days of a coffee mug and tie. Now we feel the need to lavishly exaggerate our celebration. I believe it is good to recognize the people in our lives, and it is positive reinforcement for all we do for each other. The problem is, why do we feel the necessity to pack it on top of Sundays? A day where we should be reflecting on Jesus.
Mark 16:2- “Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb.”
Acts 20:7- “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.”
1 Corinthians 16:2- “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.”
From these passages, we can see the forethought that should go into our weekly meetings. We will go out of our way to schedule and prioritize every moment of our lives, but we will seldom put that same effort into making sure we are meeting together on a regular basis. If I assert that Jesus is the most essential piece of my life, can I reorganize it to reflect this reality? What else could I switch around to place more emphasis on the body of Christ?
Historically the Jewish people were well accustomed to making their rhythm of life reflect their spiritual reality. I am not suggesting that we become dogmatic or rigid about these concepts; I am merely suggesting that we think of our lives with this question: What will you do for Jesus? Switching up our special day observances was a simple and beneficial way for my family to say, Jesus comes first.
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