“We are done!” I could hear a sigh of relief as the young people stood back after their final event for the year.
It has been a grueling few months on the project with transitions, planning, training and preparing for our students to return to their respective countries. There was a flurry of activity before their departure. Rooms had to be cleaned out, motorcycles serviced and washed, keys handed over, and travel arrangements finalized. Being six hours away from the nearest airport has its challenges. What about taking seven people to the airport while collecting three more who had just arrived? Well, that calls for some scrupulous planning.
Village life has me clearly confused. I am trying to wrap my mind around the fast-paced rushing as opposed to the laid-back culture. Water buffaloes dawdle down the streets, accompanied by clinging bells. Packs of wild dogs howl as the cockerels start crowing. Motorcycles dart past the neighbor’s truck, driven in reverse gear with the accompanying beep sound. These sleepless nights often jolt my wondering mind. How were the days and nights in Galilee during Jesus’ days there?
I can imagine people busy with their daily activities, lying awake at night listening to the sounds, with some unaware of the Man preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14, 15).
While people’s lives were busy, Jesus was telling them to repent. Repent also means changing one’s mind. I often find myself wondering where the week has gone. It seems like Monday, yet it is already Friday, and we are preparing for Sabbath. I find myself engaged with the order of the day and not having the mental bandwidth to handle some things. Do I need to change my mind?
It is an honor to be a messenger carrying the gospel to the world. Yet, often our thoughts are occupied by this world, and our hearts are turned away from Jesus as we are weighed down with the cares of this life. Time slips by, and we are unmindful that the Day of the Lord shall come upon us unexpectedly. Christ gave us a solemn warning, “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:31, 34, 36).
I want God to change my mind. I want Him to help me trust in His faithfulness. I do not want to be so immersed in daily life that He is unable to do so. I do not want to be so distracted by the apparently urgent that I miss the truly important.
