Interruptions.

This is an excerpt from the book, God is Closer than You Think, by John Ortberg.

"What would Jesus' ministry have looked like if he had never allowed himself to be interrupted? Many of his greatest miracles and most unforgettable encounters were Spirit-prompted interruptions."

Jesus was constantly being interrupted by lepers, blind men and sick women. He was interrupted by lawyers, Pharisees and children. He never became irritated but stopped what he was doing and attended to people.

Ortberg quotes Dietrich Bonhoeffer about this:

 "We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will constantly be crossing our paths and canceling our our plans by sending us people with claims and requests. We may pass them by, preoccupied with our more important tasks, like the priest who passed by the man who had fallen among thieves."

"When we do that, we by-pass the visible sign of the cross raised on our path to show us that, not our way, but God's way must be done."

It is usually irritating to be interrupted, but we should remember Jesus' example. He looked at the people who interrupted him and asked them what they needed or answered their questions. Interruptions can be a test of our patience or an opportunity to witness or help someone.