Some opponents of a life in close fellowship with God are not necessarily wrong in and of themselves. For example, it is good to be aware of what is taking place in the world so we can share kingdom-centered thinking with others, but when troubling news and endless quarreling detract from our joy in the Lord, we can easily grow depressed with problems we will never solve. In communion with Him, God wants to give His children the ability to walk in the light and be peaceful voices of hope in a dark world.
Opponents of fellowship with God often tempt us to only seek pleasure in the temporal. As a coach, I’ve seen many benefits of athletics. Young people learn to work hard, to work together, to persevere though hardship, and to show good sportsmanship in all types of situations. But when a sport or other activity consumes all our thinking and time, a person can easily forget the eternal purposes of God.
Even work can be an opponent to fellowship with the One who loves us most. “Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered. ‘You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:40-42)
Incredibly, Jesus says ‘only one thing is needed’… surely the one thing is Him! The late Henri Nouwen had a chance to visit with Mother Teresa one time. Here’s the account of his experience:
Once, quite a few years ago, I had the opportunity of meeting Mother Teresa of Calcutta. I was struggling with many things at the time and decided to use the occasion to ask Mother Teresa’s advice. As soon as we sat down I started explaining all my problems and difficulties – trying to convince her of how complicated it all was! When, after ten minutes of elaborate explanation, I finally became silent, Mother Teresa looked at me quietly and said: “Well, when you spend one hour a day adoring your Lord and never do anything which you know is wrong… you will be fine!”
When she said this, I realized suddenly that she had punctured my big balloon of complex self-complaints and pointed me far beyond myself to the place of real healing. In fact, I was so stunned by her answer that I didn’t feel any desire or need to continue the conversation. The many people waiting outside the room to see her could probably use her time better than I. So I thanked her and left. Her few words became engraved on my heart and mind to this day.
As we live on this earth, let’s not forget the ‘one thing’ that is needed.
“Come to Me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Quote from Here and Now by Henri Nouwen, The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1994, pp 118-119