Session 7 · Luke 5:15-16
A rule of life
Draft a first pass at the few practices and times that make room for God and people.
Book reading: Chapter 6: What we're really talking about is a rule of life (pp. 89-98)
Luke 5:15 says that "even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities." Picture that. Needs everywhere, people lined up, and good work waiting to be done. Then comes the next verse: "But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray."
Comer's chapter on a rule of life builds on this kind of picture. He presents Jesus as rarely hurried and fully present, living in a light, unforced way with room for the Father and for people. Notice why that was possible. Committing to the Father meant saying no to many other demands, including good ones. Jesus didn't meet every need in the room. Luke 5 shows him choosing, again and again, what to step toward and what to step away from.
From there Comer introduces a rule of life: a deliberate pattern of time and habits that arranges a life around following Jesus. His metaphor is a trellis, the frame a vine grows along. The trellis doesn't make the vine grow. It gives growth something to lean on so it doesn't sprawl across the ground. Keep that in mind as his picture, not a verdict on anyone's schedule. A rule of life isn't a cage of rules. It's support for something living.
The book also uses a marriage comparison to show how little time a basic healthy relationship really takes, and argues that most people have enough time if it is reallocated toward the kingdom instead of entertainment. If you're a caregiver, a shift worker, or a single parent with almost no free hours, please don't hear that as a charge against you. Your first rule may be one small, protected pocket of ten minutes or a single shared meal, and asking for help is part of a wise rule, not a failure of it.
This matters because a life with no plan doesn't stay empty. The urgent and the loud fill it. Jesus's withdrawing in Luke 5:16 isn't a one-time event. The verse describes a pattern, something he would do. Habits like that don't happen by accident, and they keep room open for God and for people.
So here's your first draft. Keep it small. A rule of life for beginners might have three parts: a few practices (like prayer, Scripture, a weekly rest), the times they happen (a day, a spot in your morning), and the people they make room for (a friend, a family dinner). Three practices you keep beat ten you abandon. You can revise it. A trellis can be adjusted as the plant grows.
Key idea
Comer presents a rule of life as a deliberate pattern of time and habits, like a trellis, that arranges life around following Jesus; start with a few practices and set times rather than a long list.
Questions to consider
- What good demands are you currently saying yes to that make it hard to say yes to time with God and the people closest to you?
- If your week had a trellis, what is one practice, one time, and one person it would hold in place?
Journal prompt
Draft a first-pass rule of life in three lines: the one to three practices you want to keep, when each one will happen, and who you want to make room for. Then write what you would need to say no to in order to keep it.
Practice
Spend 20 minutes today: 1) Write down your last week's typical rhythm, including what filled the open spaces. 2) Choose no more than three practices to protect. 3) Put each one on a specific day and time. 4) Name one person you want to make room for, and schedule that too. 5) Try the draft for one week, then adjust.