Devotional: R & R Mark 6:7-13, 30-32

“And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest awhile.’ (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat)” (Mk. 6:31).

This writer served in the U.S. army from August 1967 to August 1971. I was stationed in Viet Nam from June 1968 to January 1970. During the war soldiers were given an opportunity to go away for four to six days for R & R. R & R is short for rest and recuperation. Soldiers could choose between several popular places where they could get away from the routines of war. These places included Sydney, Australia; Taipei, Taiwan; Bangkok, Thailand; Manila, Philippines, Honolulu, Hawaii; and Hong Kong, and Singapore (each with its own capital city). R & R was a time to relax, have fun, and enjoy the discovery of a different culture. At the completion of their R & R the soldiers returned to their places of duty. The war had not ended.

In the gospels Jesus and His disciples are continually engaged in ministry. In Mark 6 and Luke 9 the writers tells us that Jesus sends out the twelve with authority to cast out demons and to preach that people ought to repent (Mk. 6:7-13). The apostles return, and they report all that they had done. Jesus takes the apostles with Him to a city called Bethsaida, but the crowds see them and follow (Lk. 9:10-11).

We can learn from the experiences of the soldiers and the apostles. Ministry is hard and tiring. We need time to get away to relax, refresh, recuperate, and retool so that we can return to the mission that God calls us to. We should take advantage of those short periods of R & R knowing that the mission is still going on because there are people that need our ministry.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for calling us into your service. Thank you for those short periods of time that we need to take for ourselves. Amen.