First Things First
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Matthew 24:36-44
36. "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. 38. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39. and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man. 40. Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. 41. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. 42. Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43. But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. 44. Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Even I picked up right away that I’m on a theme this week! The end of time will come without warning and we must be ready! I’m not sure why this theme is recurring this week except that I am a “to do” list person. And all too often my “to do” items get shifted from day to day to day. If the task is not something I enjoy, I’m much more likely to skip it and go to the next item on the list. The problem with that strategy, is that sometimes those items don’t ever get done! Or they are done out of an emergent situation, because I procrastinated initially and now have caused myself additional stress and “one more thing to do” that I really don’t have time nor desire to do!
I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one with this strategy for living! Laundry ranks way down on the list. Reading is way up near the top! Vacuuming? Let’s not go there! More importantly, I find that in the times when I have decisions to make, or difficult choices to make, I put off going to God for guidance and direction. I shift the “quiet time” for discernment until a night I don’t have a meeting or an activity. It doesn’t occur to me to cancel the meeting and stay “home with God!” I think Matthew is warning us about this kind of lifestyle and behavior. Do the things that matter first!
I’m a bit more focused on this topic since the Women’s Retreat I attended last weekend. The theme was about putting “retreat” in our daily lives. And that includes retreat to our Creator, our source. When God is the first thing on our list, everything else falls into place. When God is the first choice in our daily activities, all the other activities line up perfectly! I’m not saying that our faith is like a “magic bullet!” Someone in the carpool is going to have a dead battery! There are traffic jams on the way to work. I generally pick the slowest line in the grocery store -- avoid me at all costs if you see me in line! But our
life will be in order. Our
heart will be in order. And so we will be ready when the hour arrives! Boy I hope I get lifted right out of line at Wal-Mart on a Saturday morning!
I hope you’ll spend some time today reordering your “to do” list. And placing God as #1 today and every day so you’ll be ready at the hour you do not expect.
Mary
