Do you require Jesus to sit in a waiting room with only old issues of Highlights magazine?

I went to the same dentist as a child for almost 20 years. He was an old man when I was five and he never aged a day as I saw him again and again into my 20's. The waiting area of the dentist was like a time capsule. A small dark room with a hint of mildew in the air.  It had old wooden chairs and a coffee table full of old magazines at the center.

I remember the "Highlights" magazines. It was the closest and smallest outlet of entertainment for a kid in that room. It's all I had. There were no Nintendo's yet, no cell phones to glance at, just old used magazines.

I would associate those old magazines with dental work. The smells and the look of worn-out pages, used-up puzzles, and games with some other kid's handwriting and circles. Much like distinct sights and sounds become tied to uncomfortable memories, so the Highlights magazine became tied to waiting areas with uncomfortable meetings that followed.

Time was never a factor in a waiting room. You never knew how long you would have to wait. I always found it strange that I needed to be punctual but the dentist never needed to receive me punctually. Wasn't I the one paying for service? Well, my parents were paying, right?

The waiting room. A place for someone to bide time. Very important people rarely encounter waiting rooms. They are usually the people that we wait for. How many times have we placed Jesus in the waiting room because he came to serve us?

We read scripture and go to services on Sunday to worship God. As Christians, we believe in God the Father and God the Son. No one could have a greater place in all of eternity than the Creator that became His creation to reconnect the severed bond between us and Him. Jesus did the work. He saved us. Why would we not open the door and let him in?

Yet, so many of us spend more time tending to our needs first. We may spend a little time preparing to let Him in, and then a small amount of time in a relationship with Him.

Martha and Mary.  Luke 10:38-42

As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.

Martha isn't totally wrong here. I believe she has her priorities out of whack. How many times do we have Jesus in the room with us, but we are distracted by worry or anxiety over our tasks and responsibilities?

I spend an hour a day in prayer and study with God. I read scripture. I write. I reflect on my relationship with God. I spend time with Jesus.

I spend 2 - 3 hours on a Sunday in services, Mass, or prayer. This is my Holy Day. My day of rest and reflection.

All in all, that's a total of 8 hours in a relationship with Jesus. That time is equivalent to one full workday in my week. The rest of the time, where is Jesus? He's either with me, evident through my actions, my behavior, and how I treat others, or he is in that dank waiting room flipping through a couple of Highlight's magazines.

How many times do I make my Lord and Savior wait in a place like this while I focused on other priorities in my life?

Worse yet for me, there have been times that I have Jesus in the room with me, and I have ushered him back to the waiting room because something else came up. I have a kid home from school sick. I have bills to reconcile. I have a work proposal due.

"Hey Jesus, I need to move our appointment back. Can you have a seat in the waiting room while I deal with this stuff?"

The prophets, saints, and followers of God in the Old Testament waited thousands of years on earth and in Abraham's bosom for the Messiah to come. God spent so many years in our time preparing us to receive Him, and when He shows up, we still have other stuff going on. 

We live in such amazing times that we get to study the time that Jesus walked the earth. We see people in his time, making the same mistakes that we continue to repeat today. We have Martha busy and blinded by the world with Jesus in the room.

Jesus asks Peter, James, and John to remain with Him and keep watch in the Garden of Gethsemane. They fall asleep, not once but three times. This is following the events at the Last Supper. They know who Jesus is. They know he is the Son of God, yet they are still blinded by anxiety and stress. The struggle of the flesh against the spirit. The struggle is real.

How do we keep Jesus out of the waiting room? Get rid of the waiting room. When Jesus knocks at the door let Him in. Once he is in, give Him your guest room. Bring Him to the dinner table, and tell Him all of your stories. Let Him meet your kids and your husband or wife. The first few days of having Jesus as a roommate may seem a bit awkward, but there is no one in this life that cares more about your stress and anxiety than he. Jesus is the person we have come to see, and there isn't a line. One of my favorite passages of scripture has helped me eliminate the waiting area of my heart:

Isaiah 30:20-21

The Lord will give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst. No longer will your teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes, you shall see your teacher, while from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears: "This is the way; walk in it." when you would turn to the right or to the left.

There is need of only one thing. Don't make Jesus wait. This is the way, walk in it.