My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.

John 5:17 (NIV)

Jesus was busy, but He always had time for God and people.

Through His life and ministry, we have come to understand that intimacy with God is an essential part of living the avodah life of work, worship, and service. When God is the focus in all of our endeavours, He gives us the wisdom to discern His heart and His way of seeing things. This is why Jesus was so different from everyone else. He touched those whom others refused to touch. He associated with those whom others avoided. He loved those whom others despised.

Jesus never acted on His own.

He worked with God the Father in everything He did and accomplished. When Jesus was criticised for healing on the Sabbath (cf. John 4), His answer implied He was simply emulating His Father in all things and working for His glory. In another words, Jesus the Perfect Son always seek to love and honour the Perfect Father. This should also be our desire and call since we all have the Spirit of sonship in us.

The avodah life is the true expression of being sons and daughters of our most loving Father. When we learn to live as God works within us, we live to please Him.

Jesus shows us that work, worship, and service are not competing or conflicting priorities. But they appeared to be so because we have forsaken our intimacy with God. This happened because we allow our daily routines to take over our lives. Like the church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-20) we will live a life that is neither “hot nor cold”, but lukewarm.

Lukewarmness breeds an indifference to the truth of who we are and what we are meant to be in Christ. It is not living to the fullest, but living with an emptiness that nothing seems to satisfy. This is not supposed to be our way of living.

Let Jesus be our example in submission to God completely. It is through our conformity to Christ that we will enjoy the Father and obey Him out of love.