Sunday was as gorgeous of a fall day in Eastern North Carolina as I can remember. All we could hear was the rustling of the leaves through the breeze. Bright Carolina blue sky overhead. Occasionally there was a deer dog barking in the distance. Screen doors slamming. It was glorious.
As we walked the property Robin would squat down and point at footprints in the dirt. He would smile, binoculars hanging around his neck, and look up at me. The look told me I should act like we'd won the lottery. He would then explain what animal track it was and how much it weighed. How it effected the land. The crops. His hunting season.
Fascinating. I've been with this man for 30 years. He says very little. Yet in his charming way he can give you an entire agricultural lesson in 5 sentences. And it always surprises me. I learn something new every time we go.
I think Jesus ability to tell a story in so few words is what captivated people. Of course, He was convicting their hearts too. But I think it was more than that. The people of Jesus day were no different than we are today. They were busy just like we are. Noise everywhere. Pressures of work, home life, raising children, illness, extramarital affairs, messy politics. They were tired and skeptical.
As they would gather around to hear Him teach the noises and sounds of the day were eradicated. The people were captivated. Lost in the words. He would illustrate things in the sand. Or give a lesson in five paragraphs or less. The world around them would fade away. The pressures of their lives gone. In those few words Jesus challenged them. Changed their perspective. Changed their hearts. Those few words pinpointed the very essence of their lives.
The busier we get the further from Jesus we are. Electronics, trains, cars, planes, loud music, video games, cell phones, Google, Netflix, Redbox,Facebook, Instagram, HuLu, Skype, Twitter, Bluetooth, magazines, cable TV. Did I leave anything out? It ALL drowns out the pressures of our lives. But it also drowns out Jesus.
We need Jesus. Let me say that again. We need Jesus. I need Jesus. We need Him to make sense of a senseless world. We need Him to show us the beauty of what He created that we overlook. We need Him to save us in this fallen world.
Go outside today. Breath deeply. Close your eyes. Just talk to Him. Let the chaos of life fall away. Let His few words fill your heart full.
"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." -John 7:38
