Burnt Pancakes

This morning I burned the pancakes. Well, not all the pancakes, but more than one. The problem is that I can't do just one thing at a time. I mean, with all there is to be done, I can't just stand here, wasting time, waiting for this pancake to cook. I could be logging onto the internet, or checking my daytimer for today's appointments. So, I would pour the batter, run to the desk, log on, and open my email, run back to the kitchen and flip the pancake. Rats! It burnt. Toss that one, pour the next scoop of batter, run back to the desk, open the first email, delete it, run back to the kitchen and flip the pancake. Rats! Again. Repeat 2 more times. At this point I made myself stay in the kitchen and finish the pancakes.

As the smell of the burnt pancakes filtered through the house, I thought to myself, "What is the obsession with doing so many things at once?" Do I always have to have seven things going? I do. It seems the more there is to do, the happier I am. But the next question made me stop. "Was Jesus a multi-tasker?" No. He did one thing at a time, and He gave it His complete attention. It wasn't that He didn't have a lot going on in His life. He had the mind of God. He knew what people around Him were thinking. His mind was on everyone at all times. Yet He met each person and event completely focused.

When He was healing, He healed all the sickness. No mention of Him turning to the disciples between illnesses and saying, "Hey, Peter, you want to go down by the bait shop and pick up some minnows. It looks like a nice afternoon for fishing." He focused on the sick.

When He taught, He sat in a boat and focused on the crowd on the shore that had followed to hear His words. There isn't any indication that He asked John what the weather forecast was for that day. Don't want to be down here on the lake when a squall comes up......

Even when He prayed, He didn't go to the local IHOP to pray and worship with the crowd. He went to a lonely place and focused on His Father.
(Not knocking IHOP--in fact, Jesus gave the directions for the first IHOP meeting "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised..")

When He was walking in the crowd, the woman reached out and touched his hem, and he stopped. I'm sure while Jesus was talking to the woman she felt like she was the only person in the world in His eyes.

In a world that facilitates constant and immediate connections to everyone and everything we want, instantly and simultaneously,

Lord, let my eyes focus like Yours.