Luke 21:37-38 - [37] Every day Jesus went to the Temple to teach, and each evening he returned to spend the night on the Mount of Olives. [38] The crowds gathered at the Temple early each morning to hear him.
Over the past month, I've been rewatching the TV series The Chosen. Remarkably, it left me with an impression that along Christ's ministry, while traveling and engaging with the disciples, Jesus often just disappeared or retracted Himself. Oftentimes, His disciples had no idea exactly where Jesus was. It's noteworthy that He felt it necessary to withdraw Himself to be alone, never really keeping any particular pattern or habit of what would transpire each day in His life.
But then I read today's passage, and it speaks of Jesus following quite a schedule. Or at least that's what I would think of as a pattern of conduct that you just do over and over each day. Today, we read of Jesus going to the temple each day and teaching all day long before returning to the Mount of Olives where He would spend His evening. That sounds pretty much like a routine and schedule to me.
I now realize the lesson to be learned is that Jesus was not someone who always did or did not follow a perceived schedule. He was the Son of God who followed the will of God.
For each of us, the will of God just means that we are being led by the Spirit on any given time and day. For many, that may be following a routine and schedule that you're being led to follow. For many others, it also may mean that you are in a place where the Spirit leads as though there were no schedules.
My lesson that I appreciate now is that God doesn't have the same path for each of us. What He has is a plan for each of us. That may not necessarily involve the same routine each day, but it is still God's special plan for you. And that plan may be different than anyone else's.
The question is not, "How do I figure out what God's long-term plan is?" but rather, "Am I willing to follow the lead of the Spirit on each and every day?" That is the place where you want to be. That is the place where I want to reside.
We're fast approaching a time of holiday. When we are going to have schedules and plans and times to keep. Responsibilities that don't seem to necessarily end. Don't forget to listen to the Spirit who knows what wonderful things are in store for you this holiday.
Stay healthy and have a blessed day!
~Dean Burnetti
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