Being in ministry can often have a strange effect on us. For some reason we can begin thinking that certain things don't apply to us like they apply to everyone else. We work so hard for the Lord and we spend so much time serving the Church that we slip into thinking that is all we need to do to maintain our spiritual health.
We all agree that there are things that followers of Christ should do to maintain their spiritual health. Things like reading the Bible, prayer, fasting, giving, and living in community with other believers. But for some reason it can be easy for us to begin to think these things don't apply to us.
It may be because we feel like we must be getting bonus points because we serve God in ministry. That surely God understands that since we attend so many church services we don't really need to read His Word like other people do. Since we are serving Him so much we don't need to pray. Or maybe that since we are around our ministry teams so much we don't need to be involved in a small group or Bible study.
If Jesus needed so much prayer and time alone with God, how much more do we?
In my early days of ministry I got it stuck in my head that since I was serving God each day that I didn't need to read my Bible and pray and do these things like everyone else does. Besides we are saved by faith, right? The issue is not one of Salvation is it about spiritual health and growth. How can we lead those around us if we are not making sure that we are growing as we should be?
One day as I was pondering scripture I realized a few very important things. The first thing I realized was that at 12 years old Jesus was able to argue the law as good as the rabbis that served in the temple. Imagine how well Jesus knew the Old Testament so that even the priests were astounded at His knowledge. If Jesus needed God's Word as a part of His life, how much more do we?
The next thing I discovered was that Jesus was continually disappearing onto a mountain during his ministry. Even though there were still loads of sick and hurting people around, Jesus found time to go hiking. What was he doing on those hikes?
Mark 6:46 shows that after telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Jesus was the Son of God. If anyone didn't need to pray it would have been Him! Yet, He was constantly finding time to be alone with his heavenly Father. If Jesus needed so much prayer and time alone with God, how much more do we?
The last thing I realized was that Jesus lived in community with other believers. He never did ministry alone. He always had his disciples tagging along with Him. Sure, He could have just come to earth and wowed us with miracles and stories all by Himself, but He didn't. He had people that joined in with Him. He knew that these were the people that would carry out His message long after He was gone. If Jesus needed to be in community, shouldn't we also follow His example?
It can be easy for us to just serve and serve and serve and reject the One that we are really serving. Think about this: Jesus spent time with God even though there were still sick people that needed healing. There were still souls without God. People still felt unloved, but Jesus always took the time to connect with his Father.
If Jesus, the Son of God, took time during His ministry to stay close to God how much more should we be doing the same?
