Procrastination
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’
12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. (Mark 1:9-13)
I was going to start with a brilliant joke about procrastination, but… I’ll finish it later.
Getting into the new year can be hard going. Some people of faith make a new start of reading their Bible, there are apps on the phone. Last year I managed to read through the whole Bible being led by Nicky Gumbell (Alpha course).
If you want to start reading the Bible – Mark’s gospel is an excellent place to start. If you were to read its 16 chapters out loud it will only take two hours of reading. It is a book of quick things – Mark seems to capture the urgency of Jesus’ ministry.
We start with John baptising Jesus, who doesn’t hang about with the crowd and disappears off into the desert for 40 days before getting straight on with his ministry because John has been arrested and Jesus’ time has come. He spots fishermen and calls them to follow him and straight away they do.
He doesn’t get a measured reflection or lengthy interview process; it is a call to follow and an instant response.
Sometimes we need to give a full commitment in life, when finding a life partner or a career, and sometimes we put it off – because it is a big decision. I remember after proposing to Joy and her accepting – she then asked “when?” and panicking I said “18 months”. She sensibly left it just a week and asked for my reasoning to wait – and when finding I had no reasons, we booked the wedding for five months later.
If you put off a big decision – you risk missing the time, you may lose the opportunity altogether.
We are called for follow God with our lives. I have known many people who came to believe in God as they came to retirement who then regretted that they hadn’t had the chance to make the most of the life they had with God, feeling His presence as they went through the journey of their whole life.
There is nothing wrong with choosing to follow God in your mature years, but many of our nation put off following God thinking they will miss things, being held back by rules or stigmas. But the reverse is true. God gives us a freedom and peace that we miss out on if we don’t take the long journey with Him.
The whole of Jesus’ ministry was characterised by his driving conviction that this was “the time”. John the Baptist prepared the way, and Jesus fulfilled what God had promised – he is, as we proclaimed in the Christmas readings.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)
Brian Leathers December 2025