Mark 6:30-31
In
important part of building any kind of group is accountability. If there isn’t
enough accountability, the connection that develops when sharing and feedback
abound in love, then the group will splinter and eventually fail to accomplish
its goals. We grow up with accountability. Every school has accountability for
its students. We call them quizzes, tests, and report cards. Employers carry
out performance reviews periodically to ensure employees are doing their jobs
satisfactorily. Stock holders hold corporate executives accountable for their
handling of the corporation (or at least they are supposed to be accountable to
the stockholders).
Jesus
has given His disciples a job to do and the resources to do it. They have gone
out and carried out the plan. Now they are giving their reports. I can imagine
the excitement in the room as each tells what has happened when the Word was
shared and God’s power showed up. They had never personally done this type of
thing. They had never healed the sick before. And now the sick have been healed
with their hands. God was able to work through them!
But
even this time of accountability gets interrupted. It is not that the
interruptions are not important things, vital things, it is that the
interruptions get in the way of what is really important. This is the problem.
We all have it. We let important things get in the way of really important things. And we even let unimportant things clog up
our schedules! That is what is happening with Jesus and His disciples.
So
Jesus tells them they are going to do something different, something more
important. He invites them to come to a quiet place and rest. They are going on
a retreat! They need rest.
We
all need time away to recuperate, to spend time reflecting and sharing the good
things the LORD is doing. This is what Jesus tries to give His disciples. There
are lessons to be learned by pulling away and reflecting.
In
the military we conduct After Action Reviews after every activity. The lessons
learned get captured and passed along. The things that go well get reinforced.
The military is a learning organization. They are always learning.
Many
organizations have similar procedures to capture lessons learned, both good and
bad. Jesus wanted to take time with His disciples after their first work of
ministry, but the crowds and the busyness impeded that goal. Don’t let the
busyness of life prevent you from learning the lessons Jesus wants to teach you
in your quiet times with Him.