boredom

I believe a part of human life in this present existence consists of some level of boredom. For some this may not be true, but for most of the rest of us, I think we do encounter a sense of tediousness, as we go about our daily routines and at times, our less than exciting jobs.

It is interesting that most of Jesus' life is unrecorded. He was about thirty when his ministry began which lasted around three years before his death, resurrection and ascension. But prior to that, the only mention we have of him was when he was at the temple at the age of twelve.

Jesus by trade was a carpenter or something of some sort of trade (depending on the meaning of the word), and seemed to live a quiet existence in Nazareth. Certainly Jesus knows firsthand what it meant to face the same responsibilities day in and day out. To grow physically tired, yet to maintain a love for life that surely meant he was not bored, at least not in the way I can become at times myself.

I work at a factory; we do the same kind of things everyday. It can get tedious, but I find that it's a blessing to keep active and busy. And in the midst of it all, to seek to keep my focus on God in Christ, to try to meditate on Scripture, to pray, to be in fellowship with others, to seek to be obedient to God, cast my cares on God, and confess my sins to God. To view all I do as part of our worship of God; barely started on that one.

When I'm bored that usually means I'm unhappy with the present and want to move on, not a part of the will of God for me in Jesus. It could just mean I need some rest, as in sleep. (Wouldn't a daily early afternoon nap be nice!)

But let's not despise the days and years of what seems to be the mundane. Let's remember that Jesus lived through that most of his adult life. And by the Spirit, he can walk with us, and we with him through our daily existence with its peaks and all its valleys.

What have you learned about boredom in your life?