The Art of Neighbouring Part 2Sample

DIVINE INTERRUPTIONS 

Leading business experts say that the average person is interrupted once every eight minutes.  That adds up to seven times an hour, or worse yet 50-60 interruptions per day.  Eighty percent of those interruptions are relatively unimportant and take an average of five minutes per interruption to sort out.  That is a lot of time spent being interrupted or managing interruptions! 

Most of us would agree that interruptions in our busy daily lives can be frustrating, especially when they cause us inconvenience or require that we change our plans.

Jesus also had to deal with interruptions. Throughout his ministry, time and time again, we see that he faced interruptions of many kinds, yet he treated them much differently than we do.  He saw them as moments to minister and respond to those in need.  Whether it was the people wanting to bring their children to have him lay hands on them (Mark 10:13-15) or four friends desperate to bring their friend to him for healing (Luke 5:17-26), or a blind man begging for mercy on the side of the road, (Luke 18:35-43), Jesus acknowledged the people with grace, compassion, and forgiveness and took the time to help them.   

Pastor and Theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, wrote “We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions."

We need to ask ourselves:  Are we a people who are willing to yield our will, our schedules, our lives to God’s divine interruptions? Will we let the Lord redirect our plans so that we can be used as vessels for His glory to love your neighbor?  Let us spend time in prayer today asking the Lord to help us lay down our plans at His feet, lift our eyes from our busy schedules, and welcome His divine interruptions with open hearts and willing spirits.