11 February 2013

Encountering Jesus - Time to Tarry

After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. (John 3.22)
Jesus, with his disciples, is out in the countryside... It is at least the next day after the visit from Nicodemus. They left Jerusalem and headed out. It isn't specific exactly where, but following verses make it clear that they are once again in the vicinity of John the Baptist. 

One thing truly leaped off the pages as I read this verse... not so much as I've quoted it above. Many different translations use the word "tarry" instead of spent time.

Tarry is one of those words that has several negative connotations - more along the lines of dawdling to avoid work or to postpone doing something perceived as unpleasant but that has to be done... maybe in the hopes that someone e In general, the word tarry often contains the idea of inappropriately longer than necessary.

And I love the picture that forms in my mind as I think on Jesus "tarrying," with all of those negative connotations:  Jesus chose to spend time that others might have deemed more wisely spent elsewhere, in a different fashion. After all, He is Messiah. Doesn't He have important things to do, powerful people to see, sick to heal, miracles to perform, piercing teaching to deliver, Pharisees to confront, a world to save?

Yet God Himself deemed most important this time His Son tarried with those men.

And in that, He set a precedent.

He also has time, is willing and desires to take time, to tarry with me.


Sadly, realistically, truthfully?

I'm most often the one that feels I can't -
doesn't -
won't -

tarry with the Lord.

You know? If I say I want to encounter Jesus, 
I must be, at the very least, willing to offer that "sacrifice" of time.


How about you?
What prevents you from tarrying with Jesus?
Or from tarrying with those He brings into your path each and every day?

this week's gratitude list
(#'s 3572 - 3589)

a Lord who loves to tarry

a Lord who considers tarrying with me an important priority

great Mexican restaurant put on by the senior class last weekend

Mary Michelle has now gone two weeks free from her mysterious recurrent fever - praying it continues

dessert pizza

homemade pretzels dipped in hot mustard

watching Mentalist episodes with my Anna-girl

starting something I've been meaning to start with my 7th grade math class

pink grapefruit doughnuts

and adapting that recipe to use with other kinds of fruit... juice...

elementary school campouts

slumber parties at the dorm

staying in my jammies almost all day on Sunday... not 'cause I was sick, but just 'cause I could

Spirit Week at school

looking forward to a four day weekend

finding a great pair of jeans at our local equivalent of Goodwill

finding a buyer for some of our used and no longer needed home school curriculum

a hope and a future


Ten most recent posts in this series:
Click here for all of the titles and their corresponding links in the Encountering Jesus series.

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