Submitted by Andy McIlvain.
Jesus walked. The creator of you and I and the universe, the one who spoke into being the speed of light and sustains all of creation “walked”. And like you and me he walked at the speed of about 3 miles per hour.
As we look at his human life, the pace he kept we see he was never in a hurry. His disciples often were hurried and harried (like us) but not Jesus.
God set the pace early, at creation by resting when all was done. This is our model; from the beginning slowing down and resting is divinely sanctioned. But the fall took place, sin and evil entered humanity and the world. We therefore, being sinful at heart are born into this world in rebellion are self-centered, not God centered.
In our culture today this has been carried to the extreme through a worldview in which we are at the center. To be busy is a badge that states I am important. The technology of the internet, a technology of speed, complicates our lives, distracts us, and allows us to ignore or disengage from the people around us.
If we look yet again at the life of our Lord, we see that rest is in lock step with “the speed of life” (3 MPH).
Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy and Christian apologist, states what is necessary is the three “S”; Silence, Solitude, and Slowing down. Silence is necessary; it is not a luxury. Kierkegaard, the great nineteenth century Danish Christian philosopher, spoke often of silence. Almost the last thing he ever wrote was about silence. He said: “If I were a physician, and if I were allowed to prescribe just one remedy for all the ills of the modern world, I would prescribe silence.” Solitude too is necessary, not a luxury, for it is the necessary basis of true community. Kreeft goes on to say, “Slowing down has become almost impossible today. Life is like a mad white-water river, and boats are capsizing right and left. What we need is to be led beside still waters, so that our souls can be refreshed.”
As counter-cultural Christians in a broken, fallen world we can intentionally seek silence in our daily lives, turn off the TV, the radio, and steep ourselves in silence, and solitude, intentionally making time for Bible reading, prayer, and be still with our own thoughts. Slowing down in our 90-mph world is often difficult, but life giving as we perceive and appreciate what we are missing in the people and things around us.
So in the days to come let us “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10).”
For more on the speed of life watch the 30 minute documentary: Livegodspeed.org