People Over ProgramSample

THE GOD WHO STOPS

We never saw Jesus run in our New Testament stories. We saw him hungry, frustrated, and tired. We saw him cry when his friend Lazarus passed away. But there is no Biblical account that tells us about him running.

That means that Jesus was never in a hurry. He was never late. Jesus never felt the urgency to run because he was always on time.

And because he was always on time, Jesus knew he had time to stop and minister to the bleeding woman. Even though the situation with Jairus’s daughter was urgent, this bleeding woman was also important to Jesus.

And so he stopped to justify her faith in him. Her faith had healed her, so she could now go back to living the life she had lost for the last twelve years.

Jesus knew he had an urgent matter on his hand, but he stopped anyway because this woman was important.

Unlike Jesus, we are more vulnerable to the passage of time in our lives. If we choose to stop to do something important, we may have to suffer the consequences of missing out on urgent matters. But still, important must always trump urgent every time.

And what is the most important thing that God has given in our lives? People. Our family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors should be more important than our careers, passions, hobbies, and plans. People are more important than things. Always.

In this ever faster-moving world, we cannot afford to go from one urgent matter to the next blindly. We must be able to stop and focus on the important things. We must stop and focus on people!

So the next time you decide between writing another email and playing catch with your kids, please choose what’s important. If you have to decide between going through your social media and stopping by your friend’s house, please choose what’s important.

And what is important? People! People are always important, so we need to stop and spend time loving and caring for the ones God has put around us.

We serve the God who is willing to stop. Jesus stops for people. Because in his kingdom, it’s people over program, always.