“If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you won't fit them in at all”

A time management professor came in the first day of class and stood in front of his students holding a large, clear mason jar. The first thing he did with this jar was fill it up with fist size rocks.  He then asked the students if the jar was full.  The students curiously responded “yes.”  Without saying a word, the professor quietly took handfuls of small pebbles from a bucket behind his podium, and began dropping them into the jar.  These pebbles filled in the empty space that was left in between each of the rocks, and eventually came to the brim of the jar.  The professor again asked the class if the jar was full.  Some students, realizing their earlier mistake said, “yes, now the jar is full.”  Next, the professor slowly pulled a bucket of beach sand out from behind his filing cabinet and dumped it into the jar.  Again, the sand filled in whatever empty space was found between the pebbles and rocks.  The professor stopped pouring when the sand reached the brim and asked the rhetorical question again.  Is the jar full?  What do you think the class said?  One student sitting in the back row sarcastically responded “probably not”, which made a few others laugh softly. The professor smiled and without making a sound took out a gallon of water from behind his desk.  The students knew what was going to happen. He then poured water into the jar until it began to trickle over the brim. 

But what was the point of his illustration that day?  No, it was not that no matter how full your schedule is you can always do more.  Neither was it that no matter how busy you are that you always have room for God. Although these are great answers, they are not correct.

The professor’s point was that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you won’t fit them in at all.  In each one of our lives, we have these big rocks, whether it be family, faith, job, or education. The big rocks are the things that are most important in your life.  It is what you put your heart, time, and money into.

Can I suggest something to you?  There is nothing more important than knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ, who he sent. (John 17:3)  As you live day-by-day and year-by-year the jar of your life begins to fill up with so many different things.  What happens when you go on with life and ignore God? The jar of your life fills to the brim and there’s no room for God.

Could I ask you to search your own heart? Is there emptiness?  Is there no purpose to life?  All of the things that are in your life, do they really mean anything when it comes to life and death?  If you struggle with these questions you have a problem.  The root of all emptiness, loneliness, and sorrow is sin.  We have all sinned. (Romans 3:23)  But God sent the Lord Jesus Christ to solve problem of sin. Even more than that, he came to remove the problem of sin. The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. (1John 1:7)  Are your sins forgiven?  The Apostle Paul said that Christ died for our sins. (1 Corinthians 15:3) What does that mean to you? 

Remember, get this sin problem taken care of before the jar of your is full and there’s no room for God.