We Really Do Need Each Other

When I was in college I had a VERY brief encounter with the idea that I might be a songwriter. Thankfully that delusion didn't last long, because I think I succeeded in writing a total of 3 or 4 songs on my old Alvarez guitar (which, by the way, is gathering dust right now).

These are the lyrics for one of those songs.  It seems that I have had a lifetime struggle with the whole idea of independence verses community --  hiding verses being transparent -- denial of need verses acceptance of love and support from others.

This is how I expressed that struggle when I was about 19 years old:

We All Need Each Other

We all need each other, we're all sisters and brothers, and our Father put us all together.
But we can spend our lives denying, and just keep on trying
to face life's battles all alone.

We're afraid of trusting our love to another, it hurts so much to be let down.
Sometimes it's easier to hide, and feel lonely inside,
Than to open up our souls.

(Chorus)
But when will we take the hand that's reaching out to us?
When will we understand that it's OK to trust?
If His love abides in us, then we must share it with each other,
And we'll stand strong in Him together.

Still we play our silly games, proving our independence, never admitting we might need them.
So while our brother's holding out his hand, and our sister wants to hold us,
Our foolish pride keeps us all alone.

(Chorus)
Oh when will we take the hand that's reaching out to us?
When will we understand that it's OK to trust?
If His love abides in us, then we must share it with each other,
And we'll stand strong in Him together.
If His love abides in us, then we must share it with each other,
You and I, we'll stand strong together.

After all these years, the struggle continues.  Independence versus community.  Hiding versus being transparent.  And denying the fact that I really do need the love and support of others.  I need you.  And you need me.  That is the way God created us.

I find it much easier to accept the fact that YOU need ME, because that means I'm still in control.  But if I need you as well, then I must lower my defenses and allow you to truly touch my heart, and then you have the power to bruise it or even break it.

And yet, isn't that love?  Isn't that exactly what Jesus did?  My heart is not meant to be whole and perfect -- but wounded and broken.  Because that's where Jesus lives -- in my broken and contrite heart.  That's where His love flows.

Chapel Address: Wednesday, September 5th

Our God is a God of Second Chances

Our theme for this fall semester in chapel is, “Our God is a God of Second Chances,” and there are two points I want to make this morning:

The first is this – before we can talk about how “Our God is a God of Second Chances,” we need to understand that Spiritual Formation is a JOURNEY.  A journey is not just a trip.  A trip is an activity intended to get us from one place to another – from point A to point B, often in the fastest way possible.   We have a destination in mind, so there is no time to deviate from the course.   A trip doesn’t allow for stops along the way to see the world’s largest catsup bottle, or the world’s biggest ball of twine, or stop for pizza at the best pizza place in the U.S. (Giordano’s in Chicago). 

But a JOURNEY is an adventure in itself.  And our spiritual journey is not just the territory between earth and heaven – and us trying to figure out the fastest way to get there.  No, the journey begins when we enter our relationship with God, and it lasts a lifetime – and beyond. 

So, the first point is that our spiritual formation is a journey and it takes time – a LIFETIME – and that’s not only OK, it is how God intended it to be.  Spiritual formation is all about our relationship with God.  There is nothing more important than that.  And the most important things in life take time.

My second point is the introduction to our fall chapel theme, “Our God is a God of Second Chances.”  Along this journey, we all make mistakes.  Some are fairly insignificant.  But some might have major consequences.  When we experience set-backs and failures, we are tempted to give up.  I’ve been tempted – many times – to give up on myself – and even on God.

But God does not give up on us.  God is in this relationship with us for the long haul – eternity, to be exact.  And God knows we will make mistakes.  God knows all about us.  He knows all about your past.  Nothing about you causes God to say, “I’ve had enough of you – you have failed me one too many times,” or ”your situation is just too far gone, too complicated, too horrible.”   No – instead God says, “I love you.  And because I love you, I am not giving up on you.  Nothing is impossible with Me.”

Some of us come from very difficult situations in life.  We may be the cause of many of these difficulties, or by no fault of our own, we have found ourselves wounded, defeated, scarred, abandoned.

But Our God is a God of Second chances.  And God is NOT giving up on you.

So – back to my first point.  This spiritual formation thing – this spiritual journey – is intended to be a lifetime experience.   It’s really not that important where we’re going.  What IS important is what we’re doing, what we’re learning, how we’re growing, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, Who we’re traveling with.  This journey is about our relationship with a loving God, and our openness to His love and all that He wants to teach us and show us.  Much of that takes place through our interaction with the people and the world in which God created us to live and grow. 

But most of us here in this room are Americans.  We want what we want, and we want it now.  We don’t want to have to wait.  We are an instant gratification society.  We deserve it.  We’re entitled.  If you want evidence, just go through the drive-up at a fast food restaurant. 

It’s been documented that if people have to wait longer than 4 minutes at a drive-up they become very impatient.  Average wait times for the major fast food chains are kept across the country.  Here’s who does it the best:

Wendy’s tends to get the highest marks for speed at their drive-up, with an average time of 145.5 seconds from order to delivery.  Taco Bell gets second place with 146.7 seconds.  And McDonald’s has the longest weight time with 184.2 seconds.  But even that is still only slightly over 3 minutes.  And companies are constantly working on ways to improve their drive-thru times, because, in their words, “time is money.”  Seconds shaved off the drive through time translate into millions of dollars.

In America we can get much more than just food at a drive through now.  Prescriptions, banking, liquor, coffee, even drive through weddings.   But I think the most disturbing fact I discovered is that there are funeral homes where mourners can drive through and look at the deceased through their car windows. Drive through visitations.  We are in such a hurry to go – but why?  And where in the world are we going?

In honor of our instant gratification society, “I want it now,” culture I thought I would give away a few things this morning.

  (toy car) – Brittney Gilleland – I heard you wanted a new car, so I got one for you.  It’s a Toyota Prius (sorry, I didn’t buy American) – it’s friendly to the environment, gets great gas mileage.  So, it’s yours.  Enjoy.

 (toy smart phone) – Dan Mays – I heard you really wanted a new smart phone, so I was at the store the other day and saw this phone and thought – “I should get that for Dan.”  So Dan, here you go.  A new smart phone.

 (toy doctor’s kit) – Andrew Mauer – You’re a bio/chem major, right?  Pre-med?  You want to be a medical doctor.  Well, someone told me about your educational plans and I thought, “I can help Andrew.”  So Andrew, I bought you your own doctor’s kit.  It has a stethoscope, and a syringe, and a bunch of other stuff.  And that’s not all.  I knew you would need a diploma from medical school.  So, I printed one out for you – and framed it.  Now I wasn’t sure where you wanted it to come from, so I picked Washington University.  I even had a doctor sign it.  Dr. Christina Smerick.

Brittney – you don’t want a toy car.  You would obviously prefer the real thing.  But the real thing takes work.  Monthly payments.  Insurance.  Gas.  But you probably think it’s worth this extra effort – because it would be a REAL car.

And Dan.  That phone does make some cool noises.  But it won’t make a call.  And it won’t connect you to Facebook or Twitter.  And it won’t keep your schedule, or send and receive emails.  If you want a real smart phone you need to commit, probably to a two year contract, monthly payments.  But your REAL smart phone would be, well, smart.

And Andrew – you won’t get very far with the toy doctor’s kit.  And as much respect as I have for Dr. Smerick, her signature and mine on that fake diploma won’t get you anywhere in the medical field either.  So, if you want the joy and fulfillment of being a doctor, you’re going to have to put in the time and effort.

The most important things in life take time.  Why are we in such a hurry?  And what price are we paying for our impatience?

We are sacrificing relationships, true encounters with real live people, conversations that might start with trivial stuff but end up going much, much deeper.  We are sacrificing significant ways in which God wants to shape and mold us on this journey.

Spiritual Formation is a life-long journey.

You have been given this precious gift of time – these months and years at college.  Use this time in the best possible way.  I really appreciated what President Bergen said on Monday ,and I hope you remember his words, especially when he reminded us that God is bigger than our questions.  We are not being unfaithful if we ask hard questions about God, and about our faith.  In fact, we are learning to LOVE God with our minds when we do this.  We are opening ourselves up to God’s transforming power and grace when we are honest with Him – honest with our questions and wonderings and doubts and fears. 

So ask, seek, explore, engage, take your time on this journey of faith – this lifelong and eternal relationship with God, and others.

And secondly –

God is a God of Second Chances.

You are not defined by your failures.  You are not defined by your past, no matter how good, or bad, it was.  You are not defined by your circumstances in life, by your family, your income, your high school or junior high years, even your time here at Greenville College.  You are defined by God.  And God has made you in His image.  God has a purpose and a plan for you that begins – and ends – with His deep love for you and the potential that exists within you BECAUSE of that love.

Thankfully, God is a God of second chances. 

You don’t have to look very far to see examples of people who failed many times before they ultimately succeeded.    Here’s a short video of several people who failed multiple times, yet we would consider them great successes.

link to YouTube video:

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(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UYMisA--Ms)

This semester we are going to look at examples from God’s Word of people who were definitely a work in progress.  Individuals who were often given not just second chances, but third, fourth and fifth chances from God.  God did not give up on them, but instead saw their potential – knew what they were ultimately capable of.

Individuals like King David.  When he was still a boy, God described David as “a man after God’s own heart.”  And yet David would go on to commit adultery, and then try to conceal this sin by committing another one – murder.  And still, God redeemed David’s life and used him in some incredible ways.

Jesus saw Simon Peter when he was still just a fisherman, and said, “You are Peter – the Rock.”  Peter would go on to deny Christ.  Deny that he even knew the Lord.  But God redeemed Peter.  Jesus saw Peter as he was – but also as he could be.

And so we’re going to look at about ten different individuals throughout Scripture --  women and men.   And we have some wonderful people who will share with us about them, from our own faculty as well as pastors and others.

I encourage you to bring your Bibles to chapel especially on those days so you can follow and take your own notes.  You will no doubt find yourself in many of these stories from Scripture. 

 
Spiritual Formation is a journey.  And we are thankful that you are here on the journey with us for a while.   Be open to the many ways that God wants to transform you along this journey.

And if you have made some poor choices along the way – if you come from difficult circumstances – you’re among good company.

We serve a God who knows and understands, who forgives when we come in true repentance – who is not willing to give up on us.

Our God is a God of Second Chances.