Jesus Embraced the Interruptions

     Jesus embraced interruptions. I remember the first time I heard this, I was walking with a group of my friends to the dining hall. Someone stopped us and we ended up talking for an hour. We didn't know who the person was, but we ended up having a really good conversation with them. We continued walking and talked about how we could have just kept going on with our days, but by stopping and talking to someone, we ended up learning so much not only about them and ourselves but also about God. Jesus embraced the interruptions.

    Since that night, I haven't been able to stop thinking about Jesus' ministry. Jesus knew that He wouldn't have very much time on earth. He knew that He would end up on the cross, but that didn't stop how He treated those around Him. Jesus did so much during the time He had on the earth because He formed relationships with His people. He could have gone from city to city, rushing through to share the Gospel with as many people as He could. He could have turned away the many people who came to Him, but He didn't. He took His time ministering to those around Him. Jesus lived His life in a way that was interruptible. He didn't live in a self-centered way, where He was so focused on Himself that He discouraged others from coming to Him. Instead, He lived a life that was interruptible, He embraced the interruptions. 

    The first story in the Bible I think of is the story of the woman who touched His robe. Jesus was surrounded by the crowd that was following Him. A woman had faith that if she could just touch the robe of Jesus, she would be healed. She reached out her hand and touched the corner of His robe, but the story doesn't end there. Jesus could have gone about His day, surely many people were touching Him since He was surrounded, but it says that He stopped and asked who had touched His clothes. The woman told Him that it was her and He told her that because of her faith, she was healed. He didn't have to stop what He was doing, but He chose to anyway.

    In another story, Jesus was again surrounded by a large crowd teaching them. A man had been paralyzed, and his friends heard that Jesus was healing people and decided to see if he could receive healing as well. The friends carried the paralyzed man to where Jesus was, but since there were so many people surrounding Him, they couldn't get to Him. They brought the man through the roof. When Jesus saw this, He stopped what He was doing and healed the man saying that because they had faith, He was healed. This is a more obvious example of an interruption to Jesus's ministry, but there are so many other ways that Jesus embraced the people around Him. 

    What would our lives look like if we chose to embrace the interruptions around us? If we stopped focusing so much on getting from point A to point B, that we be completely oblivious to the people and circumstances around us? Jesus was a gentleman, He never forced anyone to follow Him who didn't want to, He never healed anyone who didn't want to be healed, and He even spent time with those who He knew would reject Him in the end. Not every interruption in life is going to be the most amazing experience to share the Gospel, but in every experience that we have, we should take the time to point back to Jesus and embrace His people. To truly live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to live like Jesus. To live like Jesus, we are called to love like Him; to embrace His children, and to share His love with the world around us. 

"A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

- John 13:34.



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