Adding On Jesus

My first year of teaching, one of the mothers gave me a book as a gift about how to have time for God in your busy life. I refused to read it. She meant well, but I just couldn’t stand the thought of that message “stay busy, but add on God when you can.”

I was thinking of the call he gave to His disciples “Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)


It was never keep your busy, comfortable life, and try to make time for me each day. He called His disciples to abandon all, to live a life of radical faith. He never said “Add me on when you can, I know your busy, so just make time for me.”

We declare Jesus as LORD and yet very little time or thought is given to Him throughout the day. Rather than an abandoning all, radical life changing faith, He is an “add-on” to our very busy life. I don’t want Jesus to be an “add on” to my busy day. I want Him to be my day, my life! I read Psalm 96 this morning in my prayer time. I decided I want to be “busy” in doing these things . . . it’s my new to-do list:

“Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!” (Psalm 96:2-3)

Worship, praise, proclaim, declare!


Jesus is not about time-management, to-do lists, self-discipline, balance, etc. Jesus is about abandon, abide, pursue, trust.

Serving is good, but not good if it’s above abiding in Christ. Then, it’s a distraction and that was the rebuke in the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). Like Mary, we must choose the good portion and sit at the feet of Jesus in order to serve from an overflow of our hearts. Otherwise, we are not being sustained by The Vine.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)


Let’s keep the main thing, the MAIN THING and ABIDE . . . not add-on.