Hey, That Wasn’t on My List

The last in a series of Lenten meditations...

I’m a list maker, but more importantly, I’m a list keeper. When I have an agenda set for the day, often packed with more than I can manage to do in two days, it’s easy forget about the needs of those around me. Should I even mention how easy it is to forget about the plans God has for me?

But God can jump into my daily plans at any moment and call me to drop my list of projects. Am I listening? Will I change what I’m doing in order to respond?

I think about an extreme case during The Passion of Jesus. In a shocking change to his plans for the day, Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry the cross for Jesus in Mark 15.

What was Simon doing that day? Was he entering or leaving Jerusalem because of the festival? Was he with family? Regardless, I’m sure the last thing he wanted to do was to carry the cross of a condemned criminal.

Little did he realize that he was serving Jesus in his hour of greatest need.

We know nothing of Simon’s reaction to carrying the cross or his feelings for Jesus. However, this story serves as an example of a time when God may call someone, unwilling and unexpecting, to serve him in ways that are inconvenient, even unpleasant.

The story of Simon reminds us to cultivate a spirit that is sensitive to the ways of God. We never know when or where we’ll be called into action.

For an additional meditation on making our plans match God's, see Nikki Lynn's Trouble.

Milkweed photo by Elizabeth O. Weller. Used with permission. Post by Ed Cyzewski.

• Tags:  
• faith
• lent
• service
• simon the cyrene

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