As a Christian minister, husband, and father, I know that there are only 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in each week. And just like everybody else, I wrestle with how to distribute the time among God, my wife, my kids, my extended family in the church, and my friends.
The issue is the false assumption that there has to be balance among those relationships, that there must be some kind of distribution of time and effort among the ones I love. The problem is that there is no way to legitimately split up my responsibilities, especially to God. I am 100 percent God’s, but there’s no on-off switch for being a husband or father. So there has to be another perspective.
Jesus makes it clear that it is our relationship to God that carries the greatest priority, but he also shows us that we must carry out our responsibilities to others as well. In Luke 2:42-52, we read the account of when Jesus and his family attended the Passover feast in Jerusalem when he was twelve years old. When the family left, Jesus stayed behind to listen to and question the teachers of the Law in the temple. After a frantic search, Joseph and Mary found Jesus. Jesus explained that he had to be in his Father’s house, but they didn’t understand. But he went home with them and was obedient to them (v. 51).
Verse 52 tells us that “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” This wasn’t a matter of balanced time. There is no doubt that Jesus was 100 percent involved in the “business” of the Kingdom of God, but he also honored his father and mother. How did Jesus do it? Jesus was 100 percent God and 100 percent man. Since we cannot work with more than 100 percent of ourselves, we must trust God to make up the difference and continue to focus on God, praying for “more Jesus, less me” and to be filled with the Holy Spirit who enables us to do more than we can imagine with the time we have.