The Art of Stopping

It's Sunday morning and everything is racing through my mind of all I need to get done. The list is long, the time seems short and my mind is only focused on what needs to be accomplished. Yet, in walks a visitor in great need. I might shake their hand, give a typical great, and then move on hoping someone else will take care of them.

Maybe it's Monday morning and you realize the work you needed to get done before the weekend was put off. The deadline is looming in a few hours and all you can think about it what you need to get done. Yet, a co worker who had a horrible weekend with family needs some attention from you. You simply give cliche answers and half listen to their heart.

Maybe the house is a wreck- dishes, laundry, bathrooms need cleaning, toys picked up, etc. You start your list of chores and your child decides that a hurt they experienced from a friend needs more attention by you. You simply don't have the time right now, so "you'll get to it later" only to forget.

If this sounds familiar on some level, its because you are human. We all share the struggle of "busy life" that effects our interactions with others. Yet, I learned in my time with Jesus this morning, that He taught His disciples and us the "art of stopping."

In Mark 10:46-52, Jesus is on his way to begin the passion-the final steps toward His death and resurrection. Surely, His mind is filled with all that is before Him. The time left with His disciples, the last things He needs to teach them/show them, the pain and agony that lies before Him, yet He hears a cry of someone in need. A man who is blind and needs healing both physically and spiritually. Jesus stops and does three things- hears, listens, and acts. These are the components to develop the "art of stopping".

The Art of Stopping

Hear- Jesus is walking with a crowd of people through busy streets. His mind likely filled with so much. Yet, He hears a cry of need. To hear is to simply be aware of people and needs around us. So, hearing is simply taking notice. The problem is we fill our lives with so much noise- media, phones, our busyness, our own cries in our hearts, etc. that we miss those around us. To hear we need to first recognize that Jesus is always ready to hear from us. We need to turn over our own cries to Him. Second, we need to build a habit of hearing. This habit is only built by thinking less of our self and more of others.

Listen- Listening is different from hearing in that listening means engagement. Jesus hears the blind man and then asks him a question. The question was intended to draw out the man's faith and to engage with him. Engagement is the step needed to know the person and the need to be cared for. It means assessing the needs to know how to help. It means knowing the heart of the person and developing a love and compassion for them. Listening should lead us from seeing a person as an opportunity and actually as a person. Listening may not lead to action though. We can sometimes hear and listen to a person and need, but feel overwhelmed and not actually do anything. Jesus though, shows that action is still necessary.

Action- This is probably the hardest part of the "art of stopping". Action will likely lead to messiness of another person's life. It will likely mean sacrifice and time from us to meet the need. Action may not mean taking care of the need ourselves. It may be connecting the person in need with someone who can take care of it. However, we don't simply point them in the right direction and then leave them alone. We should walk with them until we cannot anymore. Action is also the loudest speaking to the person in need.

The questions that remains for all of us- What steps do we need to take to develop the habit of stopping? What is blocking me from hearing, listening, and acting? How do I surrender to the will and way of Jesus to imitate Him in my own life?