"The BIG Rocks"

The story has been told about a teacher who once used an illustration that his students would NEVER forget.  As he stood in front of the class, he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him.  Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.  When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks could fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"  Everyone in the class said "Yes."  Then he said, "Really?"  He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel and dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing pieces of the gravel to work themselves down into the space between the BIG rocks.  Then he asked, "Is the jar full?"  By this time, the class was onto him and one answered, "Probably not."  "Good," he replied.  He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand.  He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel.  Once more, he asked the question, "Is this jar full?”  "No!" the class shouted.  Once again, he said, "Good."  Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim.  When the water reached the top of the jar, he asked again, “NOW how many of you think the jar is full?”  All of the hands were raised.  He answered, “You are correct.”

Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"  

One student raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how FULL your schedule is, you can ALWAYS fit some MORE things in it." 

"NO," the teacher replied, "that is NOT the point."

Then the teacher asked, “What would have happened if I had reversed the order?”  Several answers were given including, “You would have had a mess!”  
Then he explained…

"The truth this illustration teaches us, is:  If you don't put the BIG rocks in FIRST, you'll NEVER get them in at all."

It’s a lesson on PRIORITIES!  The ingredients that the teacher used to FILL THE JAR represent things with which we FILL OUR LIVES.  Each of these things has its own value and importance. The BIG rocks represent those things that are MOST important.  If we don’t put the BIG rocks in FIRST, we, too, will NOT have room for them, and we will make a mess of our lives!

Jesus spoke of the largest, MOST IMPORTANT rock that we MUST be sure to include
in the “jar” of our lives when He said:  “Seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and ALL these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).  There are MANY things for which people seek: power, prosperity, popularity, position, etc.  However, Jesus declares that the MOST important thing to seek in our lives is the kingdom of God and His righteousness. When we do this, Jesus promises that we will be blessed with ALL the necessities of life.  

If we fail to make THIS our FIRST priority, we will end up making a mess of 
this life, and forfeit the life to come!

Seeking FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness will lead one to place his faith in Jesus (Acts 16:31), repent of sins (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 22:16).  It is when we obey these commands that the Lord adds us to His kingdom - THE CHURCH.  THEN, we CONTINUE to seek, find, and DO the will of God as we are instructed through His inspired Word.

For what do YOU seek?  With what are you filling the jar of YOUR life?

REMEMBER: Put the BIG rocks in FIRST!

God bless you!

David A. Sargent, Minister 

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

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