LEAVE IT TO CLEAVER: Private
Some of the old movies I have watched show “the boss” with an entrance leading to his/her office with large wording on the door — private. That means only the boss can go into his/her private place. Perhaps more particularly to the average person in that office, it means you may not open that door without a specific invitation from “the boss” to enter the private area.
I also observed some movies have young children with signs like that on their doors. They are at the point in life where privacy is important to them. They do not want parents — or specifically younger brothers or sisters — nosing around their rooms to disturb their privacy. I have always wanted a sign on the door in my area like that — private. It might make me feel important.
However, a private time and place is absolutely necessary for the spiritual health and well-being of all people. The private time one spends alone with the Lord Jesus is most important to a growing spiritual life. Finding the secret place with the Highest is a privilege but also a requirement that cannot be duplicated with anything else. Jesus invited His followers into His privacy many times in order to give them insight into the work of God in His life. Jesus often held His lessons, not in public but in private.
Going to church a few times a year or every Sunday is not enough to substitute for being in the private place with Jesus. Listen to the gospel account from Mark 4:34 (CSB): “…Privately, however, he explained everything to his own disciples.” The apostles needed the cloistered, sequestered and reserved time set apart with Him. With so many puzzling things swirling around my life right now, I need the privacy with Jesus.
Lord, please help me seek and find that private place where I can be alone with You!
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Dr. Tony Cleaver
Dr. Tony Cleaver pens a column titled, Leave It To Cleaver, in which he talks about a wide variety of topics relevant to the modern church and BMA Baptists.
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