A Sense of Urgency

My wife accuses me of being the poster boy for procrastination. It seems as if my life motto since I retired is “why do something today that I can put off until tomorrow.” Perhaps you can relate. There might be a home improvement project you’ve been meaning to do, but nothing gets done. A call you’ve been intending to make but haven’t. A trip home you’ve been putting off. Or even a project for work that just keeps getting pushed farther down the calendar. Whatever it is, it seems as if a lot of us have lost our sense of urgency about a lot of things.

As I read in the gospel of Mark, I am struck by the word “immediately.” The Greek word for immediately is euthys. It is used 59 times in the New Testament, (mostly in the gospels and Acts), but euthys is used 41 times in the gospel of Mark. This gospel presents Jesus as servant. The impression the reader has is that Jesus and the followers of God are so obedient to the plan and purpose of God, that they cannot wait to experience what Jesus has in store for them. Like hungry children, they cry out for the spiritual food they know they desperately need.

Take a moment and glance through the first chapter of Mark. (Go ahead, grab a Bible, I’ll wait).

If you read the first little bit of Mark, you find lots of “immediately” references. Jesus gets baptized by John the Baptist and “immediately” the heavens open and the Spirit falls (Mark 1:10). Then in verse 12, the Spirit “Immediately” drives Jesus into the wilderness (Mark 1:12). Peter and Andrew “immediately” leave their nets in answer to the command to be fishers of men (Mark 1:18). John and James, the sons of Zebedee “immediately” leave their fishing business behind. Jesus fame spreads “Immediately,” (Mark 1:28). Jesus heals Simon’s wife’s mother and the fever “immediately” leaves her (Mark 1:31). You get the picture. In this gospel, it seems as if everyone is running around doing the things of God without a moment’s hesitation. There seems to be an extreme sense of urgency.

I have to confess to you that I have not always had that kind of desire for the things of God. I can tell you that I have missed quiet times, failed to pray when I should have, or even during the past year, made the decision to skip church, blaming it on the pandemic. During 2020-21, so many Christians have battled Covid and have stayed away from church, preferring to watch from their sofas rather assemble themselves together. My sense is that tendency has spilled over into our daily walk with the Father. We have become lazy Christians, preferring to put off until tomorrow what we should be doing today.

So, today this is a call to put the “immediately“ back into your spiritual life. Develop a sense of urgency about the things of God. Does a friend need Jesus? Go and share you the gospel with them. Not tomorrow, but now. Do you need to reconnect with the Father? Do it now. Don’t wait. Need to dive into God’s word again? Find a plan and start. Need to get up and go to church? Set the alarm and get moving. When we truly see that our world is dying and how much it needs Jesus, we know that we cannot procrastinate. We cannot let the daily demands of life push aside needs of the holy. Our world doesn’t need a “tomorrow” Savior, it needs a fresh encounter with a Holy and Loving God who can save sinners by faith – “immediately.”