margin
1. the space between our load and
our limit; the amount allowed beyond
what is needed; something held in reserve
for contingencies or unanticipated situations. 2.
sufficient reserve (of time, energy, money, etc.) to
provide for our needs and the needs of others.
“Many people commit to a 120% life and wonder
why the burden feels so heavy. It is rare to see a
life prescheduled to only 80%, leaving margin for
responding to the unexpected that God sends
our way.”-Richard Swenson, M.D.
1. the space between our load and
our limit; the amount allowed
beyond what is needed; something
held in reserve for contingencies or
unanticipated situations.
“Many people commit to a 120% life and
wonder why the burden feels so heavy.
It is rare to see a life prescheduled to only
80%, leaving margin for responding to the
unexpected that God sends our way.”
-Richard Swenson, M.D.
2. sufficient reserve (of time, energy,
money, etc.) to provide for our needs
and the needs of others.
Mark 12:28-29
28 One
of the teachers of the law came
and heard them debating. Noticing that
Jesus had given them a good answer, he
asked him, “Of all the commandments,
which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,”
answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel:
The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Mark 12:30-31
30 Love
the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind and with all your strength.’
31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor
as yourself.’ There is no commandment
greater than these.”
Mark 1:22
The people were amazed at his
teaching, because he taught them as
one who had authority, not as the
teachers of the law.
Mark 1:27-28
27 The
people were all so amazed that
they asked each other, “What is this? A
new teaching—and with authority! He
even gives orders to evil spirits and they
obey him.”
28 News about him spread quickly over
the whole region of Galilee.
Mark 1:29-31
29 As
soon as they left the synagogue,
they went with James and John to the
home of Simon and Andrew.
30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with
a fever, and they told Jesus about her.
31 So he went to her, took her hand and
helped her up. The fever left her and she
began to wait on them.
Mark 1:32-34
32 That
evening after sunset the people
brought to Jesus all the sick and demonpossessed. 33 The whole town gathered
at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many
who had various diseases. He also drove
out many demons, but he would not let
the demons speak because they knew
who he was.
Mark 1:35-37
35 Very
early in the morning, while it
was still dark, Jesus got up, left the
house and went off to a solitary place,
where he prayed.
36 Simon and his companions went to
look for him, 37 and when they found
him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is
looking for you!”
Mark 1:38-39
38 Jesus
replied, “Let us go somewhere
else—to the nearby villages—so I can
preach there also. That is why I have
come.”
39 So he traveled throughout Galilee,
preaching in their synagogues and
driving out demons.
Mark 1:45
45 Instead
he went out and began to talk
freely, spreading the news. As a result,
Jesus could no longer enter a town
openly but stayed outside in lonely
places. Yet the people still came to him
from everywhere.
Mark 2:1-2
2 A few days later, when Jesus again
entered Capernaum, the people heard
that he had come home.
2 So many gathered that there was no
room left, not even outside the door, and
he preached the word to them.
• Love God
Mark 1:35
35 Very
early in the morning, while it
was still dark, Jesus got up, left the
house and went off to a solitary place,
where he prayed.
• Love your neighbor
Mark 3:20
20 Then
Jesus entered a house, and
again a crowd gathered, so that he and
his disciples were not even able to eat.
• Love your neighbor
Mark 6:30-32
30 The
apostles gathered around Jesus and
reported to him all they had done and
taught. 31 Then, because so many people were
coming and going that they did not even have
a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with
me by yourselves to a quiet place and get
some rest.” 32 So they went away by
themselves in a boat to a solitary place.
• Love God
Mark 4:34
34 He
did not say anything to them
without using a parable. But when he
was alone with his own disciples, he
explained everything.
Mark 4:35-36
35 That
day when evening came, he said
to his disciples, “Let us go over to the
other side.”
36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took
him along, just as he was, in the boat.
There were also other boats with him.
having a “sufficient reserve”
does not always mean enough.
Matthew 14:13-14
13 When
Jesus heard what had
happened, he withdrew by boat
privately to a solitary place. Hearing of
this, the crowds followed him on foot
from the towns.
14 When Jesus landed and saw a large
crowd, he had compassion on them and
healed their sick.
Matthew 14:15-16
15 As
evening approached, the disciples
came to him and said, “This is a remote
place, and it’s already getting late. Send
the crowds away, so they can go to the
villages and buy themselves some
food.” 16 Jesus replied, “They do not
need to go away. You give them
something to eat.”
Matthew 14:22-23
22 Immediately
Jesus made the disciples
get into the boat and go on ahead of
him to the other side, while he
dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had
dismissed them, he went up on a
mountainside by himself to pray. When
evening came, he was there alone,
margin
• love God
(with everything)
• love your neighbor
(as yourself)
Mark 8:34
Then he called the crowd to him along
with his disciples and said: “If anyone
would come after me, he must deny
himself and take up his cross and
follow me.
margin
• love God
(with everything)
• love your neighbor
(as yourself)
Luke 5:16
Yet He often withdrew to deserted
places and prayed.
Luke 9:57-60
57 …someone
said to Him, “I will follow
You wherever You go!” 58 Jesus told
him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the
sky have nests, but the Son of Man has
no place to lay His head.” 59 Then He
said to another, “Follow Me.” “Lord,”
he said, “first let me go bury my father.”
60 But He told him, “Let the dead bury
their own dead…
Luke 9:61-62
61 Another
also said, “I will follow You,
Lord, but first let me go and say goodbye to those at my house.”
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one who
puts his hand to the plow and looks
back is fit for the kingdom of God.”