Work For Tired Jesus

After He was baptized, Jesus went out into
the desert for 40 days. Wild animals and other temptations were there, but angels came
and helped Him. After that, Jesus went to the
town of Galilee, telling people there, "The kingdom of God is near. Come back to God."

When you're really tired, one of two things happens: Either you slow down and fall asleep - sometimes, sitting on the sofa or even sprawled on the floor - or you get hyper, giggling and running around with what seems like lots of energy!

Why would being tired seem to give you energy? That happens because your body gets the message that you're not done with your day yet, and releases chemicals to keep you going. After a while, though, even those chemicals get used up and you have to sleep.

Jesus must have had lots of those chemicals running through His body after His time in the desert. He spent 40 days alone, thirsty, starving and scared of wild animals. But when the 40 days were up, He didn't take a break - He went right out to teach about God.

Even if you're all revved up, you know that being overtired feels weird. You can feel that your body isn't working as well as usual.

If you feel strange from being overtired just one night, think of the state Jesus must have been in! He'd been tired for weeks, and He wasn't just running around the house; He was trying to bring people back to God.

That shows how important Jesus' work was. When you're tired, even if you're still having fun, you sort of want to go to bed. Jesus was probably desperate for sleep, but He knew there wasn't a minute to waste. Regular people rest when they're tired, but Jesus needed to be wide awake - so He could wake other people up about God!

(02/26/09)