Vacation 2

"Are you ever really on vacation?
I mean you wouldn't take a vacation
from reading the bible and sharing
the gospel would you?"- A para-church ministry leader

Someone shared these words with me after I gave a brief lecture on rest. Of course my thoughts, at least coherent thoughts, came together only after (isn't this always the case!) our lovely conversation had ended.

Why not? Why can't I go on vacation and not read my bible? Why can't I go on vacation and not share my faith? What would happen? Would I come back from vacation, having to 'make up for lost time,' the way one would return to his/her work after a week away from it? Would God's Kingdom 'be put on hold?' Absolutely not.

But that doesn't mean I don't bring my bible on vacation, nor do close myself off from non-believers and sharing opportunities.

I must confess that I've never had a vacation where my personal bible study has been more frequent than my normal attempted daily routine. I'm off my schedule. And that's fine. I can still return refreshed, and God loves me just the same.

On the contrary, I have shared the gospel with folks several times because opportunities presented themselves while on vacation. But I didn't do it because I 'had' to do it; I did it because God had arranged such an opportunity, and I felt led to do so. But I still 'felt' like I was on vacation.

So there comes a time when we can take a vacation, and it can be a real vacation. It may be a vacation where you don't read the bible (although I would encourage you do so because it points us toward God's grace and His goodness-I just read and prayed before writing this, but not for a long time!) or engage yourself in personal evangelism. If you do neither, God will still love you just as much, even on your vacation.