When I read the gospels, I am always struck by how often—and how easily—Jesus is interrupted. So many of Jesus’ miracles happen after what looks like a disruption to His schedule. In Matthew 14, the feeding of the five thousand happens when a great multitude follows Jesus as He tries to withdraw for some alone time. Blind Bartimaeus is healed in Mark 10 after calling loudly and repeatedly to Jesus as He passed by, despite the crowd’s attempts to shush him. Or take the story of the paralytic in Mark 2, which happens while Jesus is teaching in a home. Imagine it: you’re eagerly listening to Jesus’ words when you feel a little dirt fall on your head; you look up in surprise to see some guy on a mat slowly descending through a newly-formed hole in the roof. Talk about an interruption!

Yet whenever Jesus is interrupted, he never gets upset or irritated. The gospels tell us He felt compassion. Jesus cared more about the people clamoring for his attention than about sticking to His itinerary. He was never too busy or too tired to respond to those who needed Him. Jesus was highly interruptible.

How interruptible are we? Do we respond to interruptions with compassion or frustration? Too often, you and I suffer from the tyranny of the urgent, our lives ruled by the ever present and always growing to-do list that screams for our attention. Many times, my first thought in the morning is “What do I need to get done today?” When someone gets in the way of getting what I want done, the result is frustration. Then I hide my frustration behind a plastic smile that says, “Fine. I’ll put up with you for a bit.”

But Jesus didn’t put up with people; He loved people. I doubt Jesus’s first thought in the morning was “What do I have to get done today?” It was probably closer to “Father, what would You have Me do today?” God’s to-do list for our day is not always the same as ours. And when God’s plan for your day comes knocking— in the form of a phone call from a friend in need or your small child calling your name—taking the time to respond with grace and to love your interrupter puts a smile on His face.

So the next time you’re interrupted, stop. Take a deep breath. Pray for compassion. And remember that people have eternal value; your to-do list does not.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.