Serving at your Leisure

I was going to an appointment the other day when I saw this kid smiling at me. I thought it was weird, then I realized he was faking me out. He was actually smiling at his mom right behind me. Mom realized that he had forgotten his shoes and she was bringing them back. I got to listen to their conversation all the way up the stairs. Mom complained that he had had plenty of leisure time for gathering his shoes. Ok, she might not have said “leisure,” but you get the point. She attempted to tell him that if the rest of the world lived the way he did, we would be in a whole lot of trouble. Then she told him where they couldn’t go now because he forgot his shoes. Of course he complained. Finally, mom pointed out how funny it is that he could remember his iPad, but not his shoes. Is there a lesson here? Do we ever miss things we could be doing in our leisure?

Summer is a key time for leisure. After all the hard work of life, we expect to have leisure time. Our bosses and friends tell us we deserve leisure time. So, in the summer, we take time for vacation, we spend money on our leisure activities, and we recharge.

God was all about rest that is for sure. It is interesting to me that in our reading this week it mentions that the disciples and Jesus did not even have enough leisure time to eat, which is why they were headed for some rest.  The word “leisure” stood out to me because we don’t use this word that often. We say vacation or rest time. However, as usual, a crowd gathers anyway.  Jesus notices that they were like sheep without a shepherd, and He has compassion on them. He begins to teach them, speaking the Word to them, and eventually tells the disciples to feed them.

The disciples were probably grumpy. They hadn’t had any leisure time to even eat, and here goes Jesus off working again. The disciples were frustrated that Jesus asked them to feed these people. Jesus, having compassion on them, wanted to feed both their bodies and their souls. Yet, if rest is necessary, what is Jesus teaching the disciples here in this moment? Is He being contradictory? God calls us to rest, but doesn’t He also call us to joy and peace? So how do all those things work together? Are we willing to trust God with our leisure time? Are there times when we are in our leisure that others may need our help, guidance, or just a conversation?

I think at times God’s call for us to rest, can become a selfish excuse, like “Sorry, I am resting right now. I don’t have time for you.” At times like this we can be like the Pharisees who ask why are you picking up wheat when you are supposed to be resting on the Sabbath. Most of us would be like, “That is ridiculous. This is not work.” Yet, we can easily fall into that if we are not ready to serve at/during our leisure.

Remember how Jesus noticed that the people were like sheep without a shepherd? We are like those people. There are many times we are broken from how our sins, or the sins of others, have impacted our life. God sends someone at His leisure to feed us in our current needs. God sends someone to love us and to remind us of the victory we have and what amazing leisure we’ll experience with Jesus forever.

I used to have a college professor who would say, “Let’s go read Greek on an island and drink margaritas.” His point was simple – leisure or rest is the break of the daily grind of the work and toil of the earth. In the Garden of Eden we were sentenced to work, tough work. This idea of serving at our leisure is the good kind of work. The work we will do in heaven, living in the love of the Lord and serving one another.

So, if I’m laying out on a towel this summer by a pool, and someone comes and lays on the chair next to me and starts talking about the pains and struggles of their life, do I say, “Sorry, I can’t talk. I’m on vacation,” or do I serve them at my leisure?