Time

Some of my peeps.

We were having a discussion on Wednesday night at the gathering in our home about who has been the most significant influence in our lives. Without a doubt, I knew that my person was Paul, my pastor in my youth. As we went around the room, there was a common thread that seemed to link all of our people of influence together: they gave us time. Whenever I stopped by Paul's office or he and Judy's home, they stopped what they were doing just to shoot the breeze. Their generosity of time made quite a difference in the life of this kid from Milford, Indiana.

A few years ago, I was preparing a youth worker seminar for some Christian workers in Ireland. I decided to do a little digging into my own youth ministry experience and wrote an email to several of my former youth in Indiana, Florida, and Northern Ireland. I asked them this simple question: what was the single most influential part of my youth ministry with you? The answers were unanimous: they felt loved because I gave them time.

Imagine my dismay when I realized that all those countless hours of teaching preparation, clever deliveries, and programming that brought shock and awe didn't top the list! It was the campouts, the two-week road trips, the Saturday nights playing cards, and the countless hours spent just "hanging around" that seemed to make the difference. And did my students learn? You bet they did! They learned because of the relationship that they had with their teacher.

I learned a lot from Paul, and apart from one sermon in particular, I couldn't tell you one thing he ever preached! I learned from his life much more than from his words. Whenever a student today walks into my classroom, I stop what I am doing and give them my full attention -- no matter the amount of work on my desk. That student is more important than my task. I learned that from Paul.

The day my task becomes more important than my student is the day I need to move on to something else!

The time we give to others communicates a great deal to them, and it accomplishes more than words ever could. Leo Buscaglia (some guru of sorts) said that "time has no meaning in itself unless we choose to give it significance." I wonder how much time I have spent insignificantly? Time given to others -- no matter the task -- is never wasted.

For many years, the Great Commission found in Matthew's Gospel has profoundly influenced my thinking. Over the last few years, my understanding of Christ's words have evolved into a very completely different view. Jesus said, "Go into all the world and make disciples..." How often have I heard these words used to urge us into evangelism! I have learned there is a tremendous difference between discipleship (as modelled by Jesus) and evangelism (as seen in our modern churches). Evangelism seems to be more about passing on information (words) about God to move people into some sort of confession of faith. But it's the word "discipleship" that pops out of the text to me.

For three years, Jesus lived, breathed, ate, taught, socialized, and served with those who were his disciples. They did life together, and in that experience, Jesus showed them how to believe and how to live. The implication of discipleship in the Gospels seems to be much deeper than our Sunday Schools and seminars and other Christian education programs. It certainly seems to be more profound than passing on information, laying down a tract as a tip at a restaurant, or reciting a few bible verses when talking with our next door neighbor. One of the key elements in discipleship seems to be time.

We cannot underestimate the significance of those small moments of interaction or those hours "frittered away" in the presence of people. I am sure Jesus delighted in those meal-time conversations or those brief encounters with the stranger on the street. I know my favorite moments have been time spent with my wife, my extended family, and my students both past and present.

My life has been profoundly changed by generosity of time and the love of God I discovered in those moments. I choose a lifestyle that is generous in giving time not out of obligation or duty but out of gratitude to God and a love for the people he has brought into my life.

Funny thing about time...I don't miss it when I give it. I do when I waste it.

"Freely you have received. Freely give" (Jesus in Matthew 10:8).