John 3 – Highlighting Time
Every half hour I had to account for what I had been spending my time on.
Reference: v.30 He must become greater; I must become less. (NIV Bible)
Explore: One of the exercises I had to do for a class once was to document every single thing I did for a whole week. Every half hour I had to account for what I had been spending my time on. If I had been at the office working then I would write that down; if I had been having coffee with friends then that would be noted; and if I’d just wasted an hour on Facebook then that would go down too. At the end of the week we then had to go through the document and, using different highlighters, mark how much time we had spent on different aspects of our life. One colour marked off my working hours while other colours signified time socializing, spending time with God and personal development. When you see your last week written out on paper like that it can be quite confronting. For me, and most of my classmates, it was clear to see what aspects in our life took priority… the highlighters couldn’t lie! While it was important for us all to work and make a living, it seemed that our work time often spilled into time that we could have spent on the other areas of our lives. It was clear that the work colour dominated in times that should have been considered family time. And what was more confronting was when we were able to see how little time we spent with God across the whole week.
Application: When it comes to spending money we can be quite considered and frugal, however when it comes to spending time we can often bank it up in the wrong areas. If we are committed to following Jesus then we need to show our dedication in what we do with our time. Instead of making it all about what ‘I’ can achieve we need to approach each moment by looking at what God can achieve through us. It’s like the verse mentioned in John 3: ‘He must become greater, I must become less.’ In other words it’s like us saying, ‘More of you Jesus, less of me.’ If that is the mentality we bring to each hour of our day then we will find our lives start to hold the right kind of priorities.
Prayer: Lord, it is so easy for me to get wrapped up in my own agenda for each day. May I look at each day as an opportunity to serve You in all that I do. Amen.
What does your weekly schedule look like?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.
1 comment:
I just read John 3 in the Message; It was Clear that we must see Jesus for who he really said he was, and stop wasting time thinking otherwise.
Being God Must take alot of faith, because look at how much He believes in us. Therefore, shouldn’t we then increase in faith and believe God’s word when He says He sent his only begotten Son so that
we can have everlasting life. (John 3:16)