Christ spent His life on the stage of earth
but He lived His moments in the stairwells of small towns.
Never forsake the stairwell for the stage.
~Emily P. Freeman

spent = pay out, give freely, to use up, consume, lose force, exhausted, worn out, without energy

lived = reside, dwell together, be nourished, to exist spiritually, experience, charged as an electric wire, delivering power or motion, wide awake, of present interest, full of enthusiasm*

Christ paid out his life freely for the masses, exhausting himself on the public street stage.
But He resided together with close friends, fully present, being nourished and charged up, in the quiet homes of small towns.

Though the stages are part of life, let’s do community well. in homes. together. Share a meal, a conversation, a game. Let’s be wide awake to the opportunity for relationship in front of us. Parents, kids, roommates, close friends, new friends. Turn off the tv, cell phones out of sight, and let’s just be. Instead of always being spent. Let’s really live in the everyday stairwell moments. Those in betweens from stage to stage. Those meals we consume? Let’s actually get nourished. Just maybe, those moments are there to fill up not just our bodies, but our hearts too.

Jesus… came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. ~John 12:1-2

Jesus said to them, “Come, and have some breakfast.” ~John 21:12

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*The Winston Dictionary: College Edition, 1946.