Life Interrupted

By Alan Mowbray –

It was a long day at work—ten hours. Arriving home, I discovered things in a shambles. Dinner not started. Dishes not done. And my wife still working feverishly in her office to satisfy a deadline commitment. There was a time when I would have just said, “Let’s go out for dinner.” But in today’s economy, that kind of attitude can add up quickly in the financial column.

Now, although I had other plans for the evening, there was an obvious need. My kids were hungry. My wife was on track workwise, but needed a domestic assist. My dream of a relaxing night after a hard day’s work kicked to the curb.

Kaput.

Interrupted.

Sad story. Stuck in a rut and can’t get out of it, right?

Some might say that, but they’d be wrong. Sure, I cooked dinner, did the dishes, drove the kids to dance and football practice and whatever else needed to be done. My little hour or two of quiet bliss was gone. But a wonderful thing happened. I demonstrated love. I demonstrated honor. This interruption was an opportunity to fulfill a need. The lost quiet bliss was forgotten, but in its place, love, honor, and happiness shone brightly and the evening turned out to be great, peacefully chaotic, and full of family. Perfect.

If you take a few seconds to think about it, the life of Jesus was full of interruptions. That Samaritan woman at the well, blind Bartimaeus, a Roman centurion, the woman with the issue of blood. In fact, you have to think hard to come up with a miracle that Jesus performed that was a premeditated event.

The easiest way to say it is He was available for interruption at any moment. He lived his life in interrupted mode. Not that He spent his day waiting for these opportunities to occur, but rather, that He went on with life, and stopped whatever He was doing at the time to minister to the one in need. He understood what we all need to realize. We are here to live a Life Interrupted.

Take a moment to look back at the last week and think about opportunities when you could have stopped and assisted or talked to someone right then and there, but instead, you put it off, scheduled it for a more convenient time, or just ignored the need.
Because you had other plans.

Look back a little further and take stock of whether previous plans you had and followed through with were as important as that person’s immediate need.

I’m just going to say it. We as Christians are a very inflexible people. Because of this, small groups are never started, church seats remain empty, and young boys and girls go without fatherly and, in some cases, motherly mentors. Hundreds of other functions of the church body are neglected.

The problem is not the world, my friends. The problem is that we, the church, need to loosen up a bit and stop being so rigid. Knowing the Bible isn’t enough. Applying it to life is where things get done.

So, be available.
Get a little dirty.
Smile.

Before you know it, your life will be full of God’s love working through you.

Before you know it, you, too will be living a Life Interrupted.