5/19/12 Librarians’ rule of thumb for alphabetic index filing is “nothing comes before something”. Ex. Jake’s Radio would precede Jake’s Radio Repair. Empty spaces are important. They have a purpose.
In today’s western culture, our society tends toward busy-ness---as if we need to fill all the spaces in our llives. A full schedule is what’s important. Is one’s own importance truly measured by a busy schedule?
Certainly in the Christian realm, one needs to carefully choose how he/she fills his/her schedule. To the “outside” world, stillness and quietness in the Lord’s Presence might look like nothing or a waste of “something” called time. Yet, that “so called” nothing space should precede all our scheduled “somethings”. They have purpose---keeping all the rest of life in order.
In Mary and Martha’s story in Luke 10: 38-42, Martha, who is busy with lots of “somethings”, sees her sister, Mary, sitting at the Lord’s feet. Martha views this inactivity as a space that should be filled with helping her. A nothing/space with no importance. In response, Jesus says, “ Mary has chosen that which is needful.” Time with Him might appear as an empty space but it’s an important preface for all of life’s “somethings” that will follow.
Questions:
- What is needful in life?
- Is there something I can clear from my schedule to allow me more time to sit in His Presence?
- Does it matter what others think if I choose to pull back and fill more of my empty spaces with Him?
