Packed days

The life of John Wesley is a great example of the scriptural principle ‘making the most of your time’. During his lifetime, he wrote, edited and published a huge amount of work. Among other things, he produced a four-volume commentary on the entire Bible, a five-volume work on natural philosophy, a four-volume work on church history, and a dictionary of the English language. He also wrote histories of England and Rome; books about the languages of Hebrew, Latin, Greek, French, and English; three works on medicine; six volumes of church music; and seven volumes of sermons; and he edited a library of fifty volumes known as the ‘Christian Library’.

Even for a very productive person, that sounds like a full-time effort. But he still made time for God and ministry. He averaged three sermons a day for fifty-four years and preached over 44,000 times in his life. His work meant that he travelled more than 200,000 miles – that’s about 5,000 miles a year. Wesley packed so much into each day!

Today, we have instant communication, travelling is much faster and easier, plus countless other things designed to make everyday tasks quicker and more convenient. Surely we can spare a few minutes for God! When we feel Him urging us to spend time with Him or to do something for His kingdom, let’s remember John Wesley’s example and willingly give our time to God. ‘Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity’ (v.15-16 NIV).

Ruth 1:3-18; John 6:41-69