Making time for what you love

It’s been a busy few weeks for me. Our Senior Pastor was in Israel for nine days which meant that I had to cover some of the stuff he takes care of each week. I love having the opportunity to do many of those things, but they do tend to suck up any extra time I have which is usually dedicate to other things I love doing.

One of those things is writing. I really love writing, and working on my blog is certainly one of my favorite hobbies, but in recent weeks, I’ve been a little dry. I love spending an afternoon with a group of buddies out playing golf, but the last few weeks have been tight.

So today I played 18 holes and I’m writing a bit tonight…

I’ve been working through a book entitled, The Christ of Easter, which was a gift I received a few days before Lent officially began. It’s a 46 day guide which has a short scripture, devotion and prayer for each day of Lent. As I was preparing to take some time away from the office, spend an afternoon with two of my best friends, and recharge for the week ahead, I was particularly moved by the opening sentences of today’s devotional.

Theologians are rarely cheerleaders. They so often wear themselves out with heavy ideas that they lose the art of joy. Theologians make a living thinking about God. They sometimes – sooner or later – become God’s elitists. They are full of answers and insight but all to often void of praise.

One of the other things that I really enjoy doing I get the opportunity to do six days a week. I do love being a pastor, and I specifically enjoy the entire process of preaching and teaching. I love the research, the reflection, the creative process, the actual experience of teaching, and the interaction which surrounds that role.

I love it all, but there are still times where I feel a sense of being “worn out with heavy ideas.”

The rest of that statement really captures for me the danger of that experience, that my joy would be diminished and the “praise” and “wonder” I experience in my life would grow dry. If that’s what being a “theologian” is all about, I’m not interested.

I shared on Tuesday last week that in reading and studying the Bible we often struggle with the real difficulties we experience in our thinking about God when we really engage the entire Biblical text.

The Bible is an amazing book, but it is not an easy one.

It challenges us, stretches us, and invites us to be transformed in that process of wrestling with the text, reflecting on it’s meaning, and redefining our lives around the truth we find there.

But I do believe this… that when we do just that… when we really set our hearts to that task and vigorously pour ourselves into the process, what we should find is not a life, “void of praise,” but a heart that is falling deeper in love with God every single day.

Regardless of the total number of hours I am able to devote to “thinking about God” in my life, I have no desire to become a “God elitist.”

But, I do hope my life is marked by a deep love for God and others.

Related posts:

1. Preparing for Tuesday
2. Am I making a mistake?
3. Wrapping up for the night…
4. Procrastination
5. Finished Tweaking… now on to writing

Category: Leadership