Mark 6:34A “And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.”
It seems that every task of every day is met with interruptions, many of which are out of our control: the phone will ring in the middle of dinner, someone will get sick and ruin plans, or a child will remember at bedtime an assignment to cook an authentic Mexican dish for Spanish class tomorrow. Did you know that according to my Google search, people spend an average of eleven minutes on a project before they are interrupted? (And I really want to know how they even manage eleven whole minutes before an interruption!)
But many of these interruptions we bring upon ourselves. Case in point: In the time since I’ve begun writing this devotional, I got up to pour myself a cup of coffee, replied to a text, and while getting my Chapstick, realized how junky my purse was and stopped to clean it out. Yikes! At this rate, this piece will be ready next month!
The reality is, interruptions are a real, yet unwelcomed, part of life. We cannot totally avoid them, but we can choose how we respond to them. In my dreams, I always respond to interruptions with grace and leniency. But, in my wide-awake reality, when it comes to interruptions, my default button is firmly set to frustration level. Why? Because interruptions require rethinking my plans, changing my course, and rescheduling my events, all of which push me to frustration!
Jesus’ life was filled with interruptions. Mark 6 moves quickly through scene after scene of interruptions in the life of Jesus. First, the disrespect of his hometown interrupted his chance to perform miracles and heal the sick, so Jesus moved on to the villages. There, Jesus sent out the twelve, but his peace was interrupted by the news of John the Baptist’s death. His time to grieve was then interrupted when the disciples returned. His time to hear from his disciples was interrupted by crowds that gathered. After moving to a quiet place to eat and talk with his disciples, their visit was interrupted by the multitudes seeking healing and teaching.
By the time Jesus had walked through the interruptions of this single chapter, no one could have faulted him for showing a bit of frustration. But Jesus’ default button was not programmed to frustration. Jesus’ default button was set to compassion. It was compassion that led Jesus to redirect His plans allowing Him to teach the multitude. It was compassion that let Jesus to see the multitude as helpless sheep needing him to shepherd them. And it was Jesus’ compassion that allowed many to hear and see the Father’s glory.
Oh, that we would meet the distractions of our day following the example of Jesus by instituting the compassion default button. Perhaps when the phone rings, compassion could call us to respond in love and kindness, giving glory to our Heavenly Father to perfect strangers on the other end of the line. Perhaps a card, phone call, or visit could brighten the day of someone who is sick or feels alone and depressed. Perhaps that late night run to the grocery store could be a chance to demonstrate the golden rule to someone anxious to go to the front of the check-out line.
We will never totally avoid the interruptions in our lives. But, when we mold our lives to become like Jesus, we will engage the compassion default button and God will be glorified.
Father God, help us to see opportunities in the midst of all the interruptions of our day. May we default to a compassionate level of love.
Blessings on the Interruptions of your Day,
Rita Cochrane