For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance. (1 Cor. 15:3)
Our calendar is our first altar, because we’re deeply formed by how we use our time.
We often complain about being busy. Everyone is. There are obligations to fulfill, people to care for, and bills to pay. But when Paul wrote, “For what I received, I passed on to you as of first importance,” he reminded us of our own choices in the lives we build.
In writing this, Paul counseled a group of Christians who were embedded into a richly diverse culture that—no matter what their previous religious experience—the Spirit-filled life was worthy of central priority. Prioritizing Christ did not simply mean “doing devotions.” Early Christians had no physical copies of the Bible in their homes. Instead, Paul hoped they would see each activity of their day—work, house projects, care for loved ones, conversations with community—as a laboratory in which to practice Christ’s kind of life.
No matter what our stage of life, we have choices about how to spend our time, energy, attention, and resources. Knowing that your calendar reflects and reinforces your values, look over your schedule: Who are you becoming? Consider how you might lean into Christ’s way of life. If you tend toward practices of devotion (Scripture, meditation, prayer), consider a practice of compassion (delivering a meal, volunteering, spending time with the poor).
Look at your calendar and ask, “Where are God’s values expressed here?”
Ethan Linder is the pastor of collegians and young adults at College Wesleyan Church (IN) and contributing editor for Education & Clergy Development of The Wesleyan Church.
© 2022 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
