Big Rocks First

One day a teacher stood in front of the students in his class. From under the podium he pulled out a large glass jar and placed as many baseball size stones as he could into the jar. He then asked the students if the jar was full. Most said “yes,” and the teacher responded by pulling out a bag of pebbles and poured them into the jar. Shaking the jar, the pebbles filled in the space around the rocks.

The teacher again asked if the jar was full and now most of the students weren’t sure. The teacher pulled out a bag of sand and poured some into the jar and it filled in the space around the pebbles and rocks. Finally, the teacher poured water into the jar until it was full and asked the students if they understood the point of his demonstration.

One student said the point was that no matter how busy you are, if you manage your time wisely you can always fit more into your schedule.

“No,” the teacher replied, the point is that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never fit them in. The big rocks are the top priorities of your life.

Think about the priorities in your life, particularly as it pertains to being a Christian. Three “big rock” priorities every Christian should make sure are in his life, include: daily time with God in his word (Psalm 119:16); daily time with God in prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17); and regular time in fellowship with God and other believers at church or other Christian gatherings where we encourage and build each other up (Hebrews 10:25).

If you make these three things priorities in your life everything else will fit into its proper place.

Having begun as a guest speaker in 2005, Dan was appointed Interim Pastor in 2008 and has been serving Maple Root Baptist ever since. As a small group leader and Chaplin for the Connecticut Tigers, Dan has a heart for the lost and the God that saves them.

Dan Kinnaman

Pastor, Maple Root Baptist Church