Be Willing To Be Available Series

The apostle Paul once informed the believers of Galatia, “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:13-14). As believers, we have great freedom in Christ and are highly treasured in the eyes of God; but we often mistakenly view our standing in Christ as entitlement, and we abuse God’s grace. We fall into the trap of serving ourselves and serving sin.

As Paul taught, do not use your freedom in Christ as an opportunity to serve sin and serve self; but rather, “through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). Be certain to “love your neighbor as yourself” (5:14). For example, you might care enough about yourself to eat at the most expensive restaurants in town. If the Lord impresses on your heart to treat a homeless man to lunch, and you truly love him as yourself, you will not take him to a fast food joint. You must be willing to love and serve him, just as you love and serve yourself.

In our passage today, we will see how the disciples were tired and worn out from ministry; however, Jesus challenged them to put aside their own needs to love and serve others; and as a result the disciples were refreshed in an unexpected manner.

Jesus and His Disciples Needed Rest (vv. 30-31)

30 Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. 31 And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.

In looking back at verse 29, we learn that the disciples had approached King Herod requesting the body of John the Baptist in order to give him a proper burial. When they had informed Jesus about their heart-wrenching experience, or “what they had done” (Mark 6:30), He directed them to, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). The disciples were emotionally exhausted from having to bury their respected colleague, John the Baptist, and mentally spent from the intense teaching they had been doing (v. 30).

Jesus realized it was time for His disciples to catch up on some much-needed rest, for He knew that down-time is necessary for effectiveness in ministry. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength . . . It is wisdom to take occasional furlough. In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less.”(1) Rest is very important, because spending time with God is what energizes us for service. Melvin Tinker states that Jesus, by taking time out, achieved more in three years than kings and generals could in a thousand years.(2) He continues to comment that,

[Jesus] knew His needs and limitations - even He couldn’t work twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week - and neither can we. But also, He could have the confidence to do this because of His quiet, serene knowledge that His time was in His Father’s hands, that He wasn’t going to change the world by one endless round of activity, but by doing things in God’s time [and] in God’s way.(3)

It is absolute necessary to rest and spend time with the Lord. However, there is a problem when we allow the “principle of rest” to be carried to an extreme, and use it as an excuse for idleness, allowing our personal time to take precedence over the needs of other people. We need to be careful about spending so much time resting that we neglect the mandate to evangelize and care for the spiritual and physical needs of the people around us. In an article on solitude, community and ministry, it is stated that, “Jesus moved from time alone with God to time with others. Jesus chose to accomplish His ministry through making Himself vulnerable in community . . . and ministering to others along the way.”(4)

Jesus knew He needed to rest; but after resting, He always reentered society, became involved in the community, and focused on the vital task of ministry. He did not completely withdraw Himself from the world, and try to justify His actions by twisting the Scripture, as some believers do today, declaring, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18, KJV). Jesus spent time with people, especially the lost.

It is important to rest, but it is also crucial to be involved in ministry. It is true that an individual can devote so much time to spiritual service that he gets burnt out; however, one can also spend too much time in rest and retreat and completely forsake the lost and needy. The key is finding a healthy balance and using one’s time wisely. Without balance we can foolishly waste the Lord’s time, and fail to accomplish His desires will. Paul admonished the believers in Ephesus, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15-17).