The End and the Beginning
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
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It's finals week at Ole Miss. I saw two young women studying on the front steps outside of Nutt Auditorium this morning, writing and flipping through what had to be pages of notes.
I suppose there is a parable here about judgment, the Bible, etc. See if you can track with me. Students know the end of the semester is near--their calendar and their syllabus tell them so. They know have to perform well under pressure to succeed and move on to another semester or graduate and start working. Finals week itself represents a test of endurance. Often students have 2-3 tests in one day, or one every day for a week or some other scary combination that often produces an overwhelming sense of fear. Certainly it doesn't help when it's a hard class or you slacked off most of the semester.
Christians know that "finals week" is near as well. The Bible, our syllabus, tells us Jesus will return. The problem of course is that he could return today or he could return in another 5000 years! The weight of living like he could return today is perhaps too heavy for us, too overwhelming to accept as practically possible. So we slack off, drop out and provide plenty of excuses why we aren't ready or responsible for "finals week." The Christian life is surely a test of endurance and that's why many don't really live like Christians--even the Christians! Because endurance means there will be pain and most of us want to avoid pain at all cost. So we party most of the time and "cram" for Jesus when the fear sets in.
Well, I could belabor this...and perhaps I already have! But I continue to pray for all Ole Miss students this week. I want each one to succeed how God wants them to succeed so he can use them for good in the world. Each degree is an opportunity for God to do something amazing and creative and life-changing in the world!
I know there are some I will leave out, but here are some of our Rebels for Christ who are graduating or leaving us.
Ruth Ann Cooper
Eli and Tracy Hilton
Rachel Smith
Kitae-Myoung
Jonathan Peeden
Jay Thomas
Miriam Webb
Liz Krason
Lindsay Head
Wenlu Zhou
Luis Unda
I am honored to have known each of you and served with you. I love each of you and am proud of you for all you have accomplished. You are at the end of life as you have known it for several years. You are about to discover a new beginning!
Now get out of here and go tell the world what God has done for you!
I suppose there is a parable here about judgment, the Bible, etc. See if you can track with me. Students know the end of the semester is near--their calendar and their syllabus tell them so. They know have to perform well under pressure to succeed and move on to another semester or graduate and start working. Finals week itself represents a test of endurance. Often students have 2-3 tests in one day, or one every day for a week or some other scary combination that often produces an overwhelming sense of fear. Certainly it doesn't help when it's a hard class or you slacked off most of the semester.
Christians know that "finals week" is near as well. The Bible, our syllabus, tells us Jesus will return. The problem of course is that he could return today or he could return in another 5000 years! The weight of living like he could return today is perhaps too heavy for us, too overwhelming to accept as practically possible. So we slack off, drop out and provide plenty of excuses why we aren't ready or responsible for "finals week." The Christian life is surely a test of endurance and that's why many don't really live like Christians--even the Christians! Because endurance means there will be pain and most of us want to avoid pain at all cost. So we party most of the time and "cram" for Jesus when the fear sets in.
Well, I could belabor this...and perhaps I already have! But I continue to pray for all Ole Miss students this week. I want each one to succeed how God wants them to succeed so he can use them for good in the world. Each degree is an opportunity for God to do something amazing and creative and life-changing in the world!
I know there are some I will leave out, but here are some of our Rebels for Christ who are graduating or leaving us.
Ruth Ann Cooper
Eli and Tracy Hilton
Rachel Smith
Kitae-Myoung
Jonathan Peeden
Jay Thomas
Miriam Webb
Liz Krason
Lindsay Head
Wenlu Zhou
Luis Unda
I am honored to have known each of you and served with you. I love each of you and am proud of you for all you have accomplished. You are at the end of life as you have known it for several years. You are about to discover a new beginning!
Now get out of here and go tell the world what God has done for you!
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