Spending your time

Jesus went to Simon and Andrew's house, where their mother was sick. He took her hand, and she was well again! Then everyone in town who was sick came to Jesus, and He healed them all. Jesus went out alone to pray, but His followers told Him, "Everyone is looking for you." Jesus said, "Let's go to other towns so I can teach there." He and His disciples traveled all over, teaching and healing the sick everywhere He went.

Kids today are busier than adults! You go to school all day, but you might also have soccer practice, birthday parties, piano lessons and play dates on the weekends.

Sometimes, all those things are important to your family, and sometimes they're important to you, too. But it's also important to take time for the things you want to do -- something Jesus taught us in this week's Gospel (Mark 1:29-39).

If your friends are playing soccer, of course you want to play, too. But that might mean giving up every Saturday morning to go to the games. You and your family have to decide if being with your friends for that extra little bit of time is worth it.

Like you, Jesus had hard decisions to make about where to spend His time. He probably wanted to stay in one town and heal every sick person there, and make sure everyone heard Him talk about God. He had to decide whether to stay in one place or visit lots of towns.

Whatever you decide about the activities you do, it's important to do the things you have to (like school) and save time for fun!

For Jesus, it was important to meet different people and teach them about God in His time on earth. That meant He wouldn't have time to heal everyone. Jesus decided what was best for Him -- and you can, too!

(02-06-03) [[In-content Ad]]