I was reading Mark 6 in the English Standard Version the other day and verse 31 really stood out to me: "And he said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.' For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat." Prior to this, Jesus had sent out the disciples and they had preached the gospel of repentance, driven out demons and healed the sick in His name. If you have ever ministered to the needs of others, as the disciples did, then you know how draining this can be. Thus, Jesus simply wanted to have some solitary time of fellowship with his closest friends and followers to allow them to eat and refresh themselves after a very successful, yet tiring, time of travel and ministry. He was not seeking "leisure" in the way we often think of the word; he did not desire idle amusement or entertainment. He simply wished to enjoy a very necessary and quiet meal with friends. Shortly after this, however, the crowds accosted Jesus once again and yet, he satisfied their spiritual hunger by teaching them for the remainder of the day and then satisfied their physical hunger by feeding all 5,000 of them! If it were me, after seeking refuge from the crowds and being confronted with them anew, I would have reacted with extreme annoyance for having been once so thoroughly inconvenienced. But this was never the attitude of Christ. He lived a life of perpetual inconvenience and physical discomfort because his priority was never himself but always those around him: "When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34 NIV)."
This painfully reminded me that too often, I equate the American dream with the kingdom of God. I want to avoid inconvenience and pain so that I can enjoy as much leisure and comfort as possible. I shy away from living sacrificially because I'd like to believe that I deserve the comfort and peace that I enjoy as an American with a middle class lifestyle. However, these notions are completely antithetical to the way Christ has called me to live as his child. Christ called me to pick up my cross daily and follow after him, not sit on my recliner daily and stream Netflix. Christ's call to sacrificial living is one that necessarily demands that I pay a price. We are very familiar with Matthew 16:24 in the NIV: "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.'" But because denial of self is not a phrase we use in the common parlance, I think we skirt its meaning and try not to give it too much thought. The New Living Translation, however, spells it out for us in plain English: "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.'" How often do I really renounce my selfish ways and seek to put others before myself? How often do I use the excuse that I am simply too tired or stressed out to help someone in need? For that matter, when was the last time I even shared the gospel with someone? (Actually, thank God, it was yesterday, but that was the first time in a long time!)
Those of us who are politically conservative are very much against most government welfare programs because they tend to create an entitlement mentality in those individuals who benefit from them. The fact of the matter is that human beings tend to esteem too lightly that which costs them little or nothing. Sadly, I think that Western Christianity has created legions of Christ followers who have assumed a spiritually entitled mentality. We have been blessed to worship God openly and freely in this nation and have faced very little persecution. Rather than taking this freedom and living and sharing Christ with abandon, we have conflated comfort and prosperity with God's favor. I know that God can and does bless us, but not so that we can grow bloated and moldy like old spiritual wine skins! Too often we, as Americans, esteem too lightly the blood and sacrifice of Christ because we have had to pay absolutely no price for proclaiming his name.
Now please don't misunderstand, I am not impugning all recreational activities or the material blessings God has so graciously bestowed upon us in this country. Rather, I am simply asking us to be introspective and ask ourselves if we have been willing to embrace the challenge of the apostle Paul in Romans 12:1: "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him." We must remember that the cross was both a symbol and an instrument of execution in the Roman world! When we take up our cross, we must die to ourselves: our desires, our ambitions, our comforts, our EVERYTHING! At the very least, we should have some splinters in our back. So, while I am not suggesting that anyone actively seek martyrdom, I am suggesting that you pray for a willingness to be inconvenienced for Christ's kingdom. Ask that the Holy Spirit empower you to love and serve others the way that Christ did and you will find it far more eternally satisfying than any leisure could ever be!
