Sometimes You Need to Take a Load Off

3-20-16

For the past couple weeks, my husband and I have been under the weather. He worse than I, but neither of us have been running on all cylinders. When we first started getting sick we had similar thoughts. I worried about work and what would happen if I needed to suddenly take a couple days off. Patients would have to be rescheduled and my coworkers would be put in a bad position. Mark worried about missing Bible studies. We needed a dose of perspective.

I finally realized that the world wasn't going to stop if he or I had to take a pause for a couple days. To put it bluntly, we're not that vital. And that's how it should be.

The rehab department at the hospital would not have shut down if I was not there for a short time. The Church in our town wouldn't have crumbled if he had had to cancel a few things for a couple days. The sky shouldn't fall if a single person is absent for a short time.

That's not to say that we aren't each important. We most certainly are. We should live in such a way that our absence is felt. However, we shouldn't live so that everything goes to pieces without us. If that happens, either we have taken too much on ourselves, others aren't doing enough, or both. We each play a role, but nobody should play every role.

Take a look at I Corinthians 12:12. "For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ." In the Church, there are many positions to fill. They are all important. One person can't do it all, nor should they try. If something happens to one member, the rest must carry on so that the Church continues to function.

Consider too I Corinthians 3:6-7, which says: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase." The work is not the sole responsibility of any single person.

Everyone who is involved in the work is important, but we can't take on ourselves complete responsibility. That is not meant for individuals. Our God is all powerful, and He is in charge.

Let's each do our part, but not all the parts. Find a role, do it, and lead by example so that others do the same. When something happens that we have to take care of ourselves for a time, we should be able to do it without the world turning upside down. So do what you can, all the time you can. When you can't, trust that God has another way to get things done.

May the Lord bless and keep you,

Heather