So I had the opportunity to share some truth with the entire high school today in chapel. The title pretty much sums up the jumping off point that I used to get started today. Over all I felt like things went rather well, and I've since received some positive feed back. (which i never really know how to take... i mean if you were blessed by something i said, i am thrilled, but only because God used me, so it wasn't really me that did anything other than open my mouth) But i thought i would put it up here for all 4 of you to read as well. Maybe it reminds you and encourages you. Maybe it helps you understand me better. Maybe God will use it here too!
So my background is pretty much the one where you grow up in a Christian home, you always go to church, and you know all the right things to say and how to act Christian. I got some more practice at acting Christian in HS since i went to the same Christian HS that i now work at. There are two things I am sure of as i look back at my "Christian" HS experience. 1) I was 100% sure i was a believer then. 2) I'm about 95% sure now, that i wasn't a believer then.
So as i thought more and more about what i would tell these students who sit where i had sat, and many of whom think like i thought, i decided that i would tell them what i wish i would have applied (not known, because most of us already know it) to my life then, that would have saved me a lot of trouble, hurt, regret, and pain now. What would I tell myself if i had the opportunity to go back and tell skinny little HS Mark, what would i want me to know? I came up with 2 things...
1) The decision you make now carry consequences far beyond HS. The decisions you make now set the stage for the decisions you make later. Good or bad. Don't be foolish enough (like i was) to think you can live for yourself now, and sometime later you'll get everything worked out with you and God.
The best example i can think of when it comes to this mistake (outside of myself), is David. Like I said, its nothing we don't already know. But take some time and remind yourself about the most infamous incident in David's life. Did good ol' King Dave set out that fateful spring to make a baby with another man's wife? NOPE! Then how the heck did it happen? It was all in the decisions. Look closely at the 1st 6 verses.
v1) "But David remained in Jerusalem": Nothing sinful with this decision. Maybe he just wanted to take the spring off. Maybe he wanted to stay home and spend more time with his family. There are a ton of maybes that we can throw in here, but one thing is for certain, you can't call the decision sinful. What seems to be the key here though, is that this isn't where David belongs. It wasn't the wisest decision.
v2) "and the woman was very beautiful...": Why does this phrase stick out to me so much? Well how did he know she was beautiful? He took a look that was long enough to allow him to observe those details; probably more than one look in fact. He found himself in a position that would be very tempting for most men... a naked lady in plain sight. Do i look away, or do i make a closer inspection. It doesn't seem to far off to say that David had crossed from a look to an inspection. Why was he in this position in the first place? See verse 1 again.
v3 "And David sent and inquired about the woman..." While we can make some educated guess as to why he makes this inquiry, he may have allowed himself to make this step based on some sort of feigned decency. "Who would take a bath on a roof like that? Out in the open for people to see? Who is this lady? What's her deal? I need to get to the bottom of this!"
From there its all down hill... once he knew who she was, he sent for her, slept with her, conceived a child with her, murdered her husband, and took her for a wife. How in the world did we get here!? See verse 1. The decisions we make now will set us up for the decisions we make later. We can't expect to be able to live our life for ourselves and make decisions based on what we want one day, and then expect to be able to magically switch gears the next day and automatically make good, wise, God honoring decisions. Don't hear me say that once we have made bad decisions there is no hope for change. The point here is, once we make selfish, unwise decisions, its easier to make more of those same decisions than it is to make wise ones in their place, and vice-versa.
2) The Christian life is just that... a LIFE.
What are you about? Here is a fun little exercise... ask your closest friend/family member to answer that question for you with complete honesty. See there shouldn't be a part of our life that is the Christian part of us that remains separate for the weekend us, and the "no one is looking" us. If we have been truly born again, then our life should be saturated with Christ. It should bleed over into every last aspect of who we are.
The best example from the Bible that i can think of for this is Judas. Why? Well lets observe a little bit about our friend, shall we?
Historical Background: The Jews are looking for a political Messiah that will throw off Roman rule and oppression and set up an earthly government that puts the Jews at the top of the food chain. This was the common understanding of the Messiah in this day. Judas is a normal Jew that would have understood the Messiah like the rest of the normal Jews of his day.
What we can learn about Judas from scripture seems to indicate that he was particularly fond of money, and most likely what he could buy/do with that money. He finds this guy named Jesus who people are saying might be the Messiah. He seems to be able to do some pretty incredible things. He hangs out in interest. Jesus then recruits Judas to be one of his students. BINGO! Free ride to the top! Judas has hit it big... man he can't even believe it!
The rub... As the movement gets rolling and things seem to be headed in the right direction, all of the sudden Jesus starts talking about dying and what have you. Maybe it was a mistake, or one of those tricky parables that Jesus likes to tell... but no... he keeps talking about it. He really thinks he is going to die! He wants to die!? This guy isn't the real deal! He is just like every other fake Messiah that tried to throw off Roman rule before! This is a sinking ship!! I have to get out of here, and fast. And on the way out, he figures out a way to make a little bit more money off this fake. Sell him out...
What went wrong!? Think about it! How could you walk, talk, eat, sleep, laugh, cry, etc. with the Son of God for 3 years or more and not really believe? How could you be a part of some really amazing things and not really buy into what was going on around you?
I think the answer is simple. The "Christian" Judas was only a small isolated part of who Judas was. It wasn't real. He had found a way to restrict his "Christianity" to a small part of who he was. He was able to play that part when he needed to, but it wasn't who he was, or what he was about. It never became his life. The proof is in the jello. when the pressure was on, and things started looking bad, the real Judas revealed himself. And we all know how the story ends for him... (ref Matt 6:24)
This one nagging question still remains... Why is the lie that, when you become a Christian your life won't be as good, fun, enjoyable, so believable? Am i helping to promote that idea with how i live? Are we promoting that idea as Christians in general?
Truth is: "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly"
So my background is pretty much the one where you grow up in a Christian home, you always go to church, and you know all the right things to say and how to act Christian. I got some more practice at acting Christian in HS since i went to the same Christian HS that i now work at. There are two things I am sure of as i look back at my "Christian" HS experience. 1) I was 100% sure i was a believer then. 2) I'm about 95% sure now, that i wasn't a believer then.
So as i thought more and more about what i would tell these students who sit where i had sat, and many of whom think like i thought, i decided that i would tell them what i wish i would have applied (not known, because most of us already know it) to my life then, that would have saved me a lot of trouble, hurt, regret, and pain now. What would I tell myself if i had the opportunity to go back and tell skinny little HS Mark, what would i want me to know? I came up with 2 things...
1) The decision you make now carry consequences far beyond HS. The decisions you make now set the stage for the decisions you make later. Good or bad. Don't be foolish enough (like i was) to think you can live for yourself now, and sometime later you'll get everything worked out with you and God.
The best example i can think of when it comes to this mistake (outside of myself), is David. Like I said, its nothing we don't already know. But take some time and remind yourself about the most infamous incident in David's life. Did good ol' King Dave set out that fateful spring to make a baby with another man's wife? NOPE! Then how the heck did it happen? It was all in the decisions. Look closely at the 1st 6 verses.
v1) "But David remained in Jerusalem": Nothing sinful with this decision. Maybe he just wanted to take the spring off. Maybe he wanted to stay home and spend more time with his family. There are a ton of maybes that we can throw in here, but one thing is for certain, you can't call the decision sinful. What seems to be the key here though, is that this isn't where David belongs. It wasn't the wisest decision.
v2) "and the woman was very beautiful...": Why does this phrase stick out to me so much? Well how did he know she was beautiful? He took a look that was long enough to allow him to observe those details; probably more than one look in fact. He found himself in a position that would be very tempting for most men... a naked lady in plain sight. Do i look away, or do i make a closer inspection. It doesn't seem to far off to say that David had crossed from a look to an inspection. Why was he in this position in the first place? See verse 1 again.
v3 "And David sent and inquired about the woman..." While we can make some educated guess as to why he makes this inquiry, he may have allowed himself to make this step based on some sort of feigned decency. "Who would take a bath on a roof like that? Out in the open for people to see? Who is this lady? What's her deal? I need to get to the bottom of this!"
From there its all down hill... once he knew who she was, he sent for her, slept with her, conceived a child with her, murdered her husband, and took her for a wife. How in the world did we get here!? See verse 1. The decisions we make now will set us up for the decisions we make later. We can't expect to be able to live our life for ourselves and make decisions based on what we want one day, and then expect to be able to magically switch gears the next day and automatically make good, wise, God honoring decisions. Don't hear me say that once we have made bad decisions there is no hope for change. The point here is, once we make selfish, unwise decisions, its easier to make more of those same decisions than it is to make wise ones in their place, and vice-versa.
2) The Christian life is just that... a LIFE.
What are you about? Here is a fun little exercise... ask your closest friend/family member to answer that question for you with complete honesty. See there shouldn't be a part of our life that is the Christian part of us that remains separate for the weekend us, and the "no one is looking" us. If we have been truly born again, then our life should be saturated with Christ. It should bleed over into every last aspect of who we are.
The best example from the Bible that i can think of for this is Judas. Why? Well lets observe a little bit about our friend, shall we?
Historical Background: The Jews are looking for a political Messiah that will throw off Roman rule and oppression and set up an earthly government that puts the Jews at the top of the food chain. This was the common understanding of the Messiah in this day. Judas is a normal Jew that would have understood the Messiah like the rest of the normal Jews of his day.
What we can learn about Judas from scripture seems to indicate that he was particularly fond of money, and most likely what he could buy/do with that money. He finds this guy named Jesus who people are saying might be the Messiah. He seems to be able to do some pretty incredible things. He hangs out in interest. Jesus then recruits Judas to be one of his students. BINGO! Free ride to the top! Judas has hit it big... man he can't even believe it!
The rub... As the movement gets rolling and things seem to be headed in the right direction, all of the sudden Jesus starts talking about dying and what have you. Maybe it was a mistake, or one of those tricky parables that Jesus likes to tell... but no... he keeps talking about it. He really thinks he is going to die! He wants to die!? This guy isn't the real deal! He is just like every other fake Messiah that tried to throw off Roman rule before! This is a sinking ship!! I have to get out of here, and fast. And on the way out, he figures out a way to make a little bit more money off this fake. Sell him out...
What went wrong!? Think about it! How could you walk, talk, eat, sleep, laugh, cry, etc. with the Son of God for 3 years or more and not really believe? How could you be a part of some really amazing things and not really buy into what was going on around you?
I think the answer is simple. The "Christian" Judas was only a small isolated part of who Judas was. It wasn't real. He had found a way to restrict his "Christianity" to a small part of who he was. He was able to play that part when he needed to, but it wasn't who he was, or what he was about. It never became his life. The proof is in the jello. when the pressure was on, and things started looking bad, the real Judas revealed himself. And we all know how the story ends for him... (ref Matt 6:24)
This one nagging question still remains... Why is the lie that, when you become a Christian your life won't be as good, fun, enjoyable, so believable? Am i helping to promote that idea with how i live? Are we promoting that idea as Christians in general?
Truth is: "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly"
1 comment:
"all men will hate you because of me, but the one who endures to the end will be saved."
-mt 10.22
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