“The solution to an overbusy life is not more time.”

A thought by John Mark Comer from his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (p. 62). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I don’t think that is the solution either.

John says, “It’s to slow down and simplify our lives around what really matters.

“You have all sorts of sharp, secular thinkers like Greg McKeown and Joshua Fields Millburn writing about essentialism and minimalism, which is great. I eat those books up. But these ideas are what followers of Jesus have been saying for millennia… Think about Genesis, the opening book in the library of Scripture. Our defining narrative says that we’re made ‘in the image of God,’ (Genesis 2:27) but also: we’re made ‘from the dust.’ (Genesis 2:7)”

He goes on, “Image and dust.

“To be made in the image of God means that we’re rife with potential. We have the Divine’s capacity in our DNA. We’re like God. We were created to ‘image’ his behavior, to rule like he does, to gather up the raw materials of our planet and reshape them into a world for human beings to flourish and thrive.

“But that’s only half the story.

“We’re also made from the dirt, ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust’: we’re the original biodegradable containers. Which means we’re born with limitations. We’re not God. We’re mortal, not immortal. Finite, not infinite.”

John continues, “Image and dust. Potential and limitations.

“One of the key tasks of our apprenticeship to Jesus is living into both our potential and our limitations.

“There’s a lot of talk right now about reaching your full potential, and I’m all for it. Step out. Risk it all. Have faith. Chase the dream God put in your heart. Become the Technicolor version of who you were made to be.”

He then says, “But again, that’s only half the story. What you hear very little of—inside or outside the church—is accepting your limitations.

He says, “We live in a culture that wants to transgress all limitations, not accept them—to cheat time and space. To ‘be like God.’ (Genesis 3:5) To watch every new film, listen to every podcast, read every new book (and don’t forget the classics!), hear every record, go to every concert, drive every road trip, travel to every country (another stamp for the passport, please), eat at every new restaurant, party at every new bar opening, befriend every new face, fix every problem in society, rise to the top of every field, win every award, make every list of who’s who—”

And therein is our problem, we have to come to grips with our limitations.  We have tremendous potential but we also have limitations, don’t we?

Yes, yes!