DEVOTION / Immediately

I'm sometimes too busy to take time to listen to my Father speak to me in his Word and for me to speak to him in prayer. At least that's how I excuse myself. 

The busy Savior

But Jesus was also busy. Busier than I will ever be.

He had a mission. And only three years to complete it. He had teaching to do, disciples to train, miles to travel, people to heal, and a cross to die on.

His had limited time to fit all that in. What an unusual situation for the God who lives beyond time to deal with.

For Jesus, properly using time was essential.  Mark emphasizes the demands of Jesus' mission by using the Greek word euthys (εὐθύς) 42 times in 16 chapters. Our translations don't consistently render it "immediately." It's also translated at once, quickly, right away, without delay.  Mark uses the word to describe the urgency as Jesus went into the wilderness, called his first disciples, brought healing to people, left for another place. Immediately.

The prayerful Savior

Yet. Yet in Mark's Gospel Jesus always took time, found time, carved out time for rapt conversation with his Father. Early morning finds him praying (Mark 1:35). He's alone on a mountainside to pray (Mark 6:46). He teaches his disciples to pray (Mark 11:24). In the darkness of Gethsemane, he prays (Mark 14:35). He prays from the cross (Mark 15:34).

Listening to and speaking with his Father was a priority. His ministry demanded immediate attention. Yet conversation with his Father was equally important.

The motivating Savior

Jesus, my Savior, shows me that if I am too busy for his Word and prayer, I am too busy. His cross of my torture and his tomb of my triumph urge me to conversation with him.

Immediately. As demanding, as urgent, as immediate as my mission may seem, Jesus' love for me calls me to sit at his feet. As his love prompted Mary to listen and to react to his teaching, his love calls me to learn from his Word and to respond in prayer.

His love calls me. Now. Immediately.