WHEN IT IS SAFE TO RUSH
WHEN IT IS SAFE TO RUSH
I have been studying the life of our Patriarch Abraham for a while now and it has been very revealing and rewarding at the same time. Recently, as I was studying, I remembered a personal experience of many years ago. Once on a holiday in the UK, I had to go and visit a friend outside of London. I was scheduled for a train ride from Liverpool Street station. I had got to the station a bit early so I decided to take a walk around the market not too far from the station. Well by the time I got back and hurried to the platform, I saw the tail lights of my train pulling out of the station. I was so upset because the next train was not due till another forty five or fifty minutes. So this time, I stayed put knowing that I could not afford the wait time of another fifty minutes if I missed the next train. I had not seen the need to hurry back to the station and I had been careless enough to miss that first train.
Last week I had written that it was of utmost importance to think things through properly before setting out to do them so as to avoid unnecessary delays or setbacks. Yet there are other things that should be done as a matter of urgency.
As I was studying the life of our blessed Father Abraham, the one through whom all nations on earth shall be blessed; I came across some scenarios where it is absolutely necessary to rush and hurry up so as not to miss the moment.
In Genesis 18 1-8, we see the urgency with which Abraham attended to the host of heaven that visited him. He rushed to greet them, he rushed to serve them, and he was extra attentive to them, waiting on them like a wait person at a restaurant. He did not even dare to sit down while they were eating; so if they needed anything, he could dash off in a hurry to get it for them.
“The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. He said ‘If I have found favour in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way-now that you have come to your servant.’ ‘Very well’, they answered, ‘do as you say.’ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. ‘Quick, he said, get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some read. The he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.” Genesis 18: 1-8 NIV
See how Abraham rushed to do all these things; seizing the moment and causing the rush to be infectious as he asked servants and his wife Sarah to hurry and prepare food. Talk about serving the LORD with our very best; (message for another day) It says a lot when you rush to greet guests who come to your house. It says you are pleased to see them and that you appreciate their visit. Though Abraham rushed to take care of his guests, he was meticulous about the selection of foods he served them. Nothing but the best was good enough for his guests and in his rush he was never careless or negligent.
As we carry on our way in this month of September, let us remember that the only thing worth rushing to, is whatever it is that we have to do for the LORD. And like Samuel said so can we say “Speak LORD for your servant hears”
Please waste no more time; we must make haste and do our Fathers will. That is definitely a safe time to rush.
OLUYINKA EGO-MARTINS©