In important part of building any kind of group is accountability. If there isn’t enough accountability, the connection that develops when sharing and feedback abound in love, then the group will splinter and eventually fail to accomplish its goals. We grow up with accountability. Every school has accountability for its students. We call them quizzes, tests, and report cards. Employers carry out performance reviews periodically to ensure employees are doing their jobs satisfactorily. Stock holders hold corporate executives accountable for their handling of the corporation (or at least they are supposed to be accountable to the stockholders).
Jesus has given His disciples a job to do and the resources to do it. They have gone out and carried out the plan. Now they are giving their reports. I can imagine the excitement in the room as each tells what has happened when the Word was shared and God’s power showed up. They had never personally done this type of thing. They had never healed the sick before. And now the sick have been healed with their hands. God was able to work through them!
But even this time of accountability gets interrupted. It is not that the interruptions are not important things, vital things, it is that the interruptions get in the way of what is really important. This is the problem. We all have it. We let important things get in the way of really important things. And we even let unimportant things clog up our schedules! That is what is happening with Jesus and His disciples.
So Jesus tells them they are going to do something different, something more important. He invites them to come to a quiet place and rest. They are going on a retreat! They need rest.
We all need time away to recuperate, to spend time reflecting and sharing the good things the LORD is doing. This is what Jesus tries to give His disciples. There are lessons to be learned by pulling away and reflecting.
In the military we conduct After Action Reviews after every activity. The lessons learned get captured and passed along. The things that go well get reinforced. The military is a learning organization. They are always learning.
Many organizations have similar procedures to capture lessons learned, both good and bad. Jesus wanted to take time with His disciples after their first work of ministry, but the crowds and the busyness impeded that goal. Don’t let the busyness of life prevent you from learning the lessons Jesus wants to teach you in your quiet times with Him.
The Arnold Journey 