One of my favorite movies as a teenager was Dead Poet's Society. It's a story about this incredibly shy kid, Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke), who attends a boy's school. He has an outgoing roommate, Neil, and an incredibly inspiring English teacher, Mr. Keating (Robin Williams), who encourages Todd to come out of his shell. The theme of the movie is Carpe Diem -- Seize the Day. This professor is encouraging the kids not to merely conform, but to transform their world--to make a difference. Each student does so in a different way.
I watched this movie over the holidays with my husband and son. It truly is one of those timeless movies. Even though it came out ten years before Ben was born, it spoke to him. The teacher in this movie, "O Captain, my Captain," wanted to inspire these kids to be true to themselves. He encouraged them to live life to the fullest. In a sense, he encouraged them to be rebels--to challenge conformity and think outside the box. He wanted them to wrestle with life, with ideas, and LIVE!
As I watched, I thought that often we as Christians can be like these kids in this movie. We can walk the way we think others want us to walk. We can shy away from sharing Jesus because ___ (fill in the blank) ...we each have our own list of excuses. We can put in our time at church on Sundays, and follow the "rules", but not ever really challenge ourselves to think, meditate on the Word and allow it to truly transform our lives. We can go through life without ever creating waves. But I'm not sure that's what God intended.
One of our focal passages for this preparation time in our church is Acts 17:1-9. It's the story of Paul and Silas in Thessalonica at Jason's house. The Jews didn't like Paul & Silas being in town, so they went to Jason's house to find them. The Scripture tells us "they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city." When they didn't find Paul and Silas, here's what they said about them: "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here...saying that there is another king, one called Jesus."
My favorite moment during the entire Christmas season was one Sunday when we were selling t-shirts in the Welcome Center. Helping me sell the shirts was a new Christian, and while we were selling, he shared his testimony with me. He was going through a rough time, and a believer shared a verse with him, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matt. 11:28-29). The guy responded to the shared verse with, "Man, why'd you have to go there? I don't want to talk about that religion stuff." But the believer had already stirred up the soul of the unbeliever. This kid wrestled for a solid year with God, and finally surrendered his life to the LORD this past June.
That's the kind of trouble I'm talking about. The kind where all we do is be bold enough to speak the Truth that we know, and allow God to use it to penetrate a heart, and wrestle that heart to surrender. So, I'm praying that each of us prays for and expects these opportunities to come our way, and then are faithful enough to embrace each opportunity and stir up some trouble.
There's a song called "Until the Whole World Hears" by Casting Crowns. Here's a portion of the text, or you can check out the video online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6BW_5WosgA :
Lord, I want to feel your heart
And see the world through Your eyes
I want to be your hands and feet
I want to live a life that leads
Ready yourselves, Ready yourselves,
Let us shine the light of Jesus in the darkest night
I hope these words will inspire you as you put feet to God's commands. Carpe diem -- let's "seize the day" and shine the light of Jesus from now until the whole world hears!
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Press On
When I was 14 years old, I went on a backpacking trip with the church that my grandparents hosted. Our destination was Pecos Baldy in the Sante Fe National Forest in New Mexico. From my grandparents' cabin, you can look off of their porch, out over the tops of the trees and see Pecos Baldy, covered with a thin layer of snow most of the year.
Well, I set off on this backpacking trip. It was my grandmother, me and another lady and then about 10 guys. My grandparents taught us to pack smart. We had our tent and sleeping bag, some beef jerky, trail mix, water, a couple of extra pairs of socks, etc. But, they didn't allow us to overpack. I'll never forget the other lady that came brought a wash tub so she could wash her clothes and bathe (not important to this story, but it was quite a sight, seeing her poor husband carrying that washtub on his back!). She also wore her brand new "outdoorsman" designer hiking shorts. We were going through brush, and it was going to get very cold at night. She looked like she had just stepped out of a Banana Republic advertisement, but obviously, she wasn't a seasoned backpacker.
Anyway, we hiked the entire day--something like 8 miles through the mountains with our packs on our backs. It was rugged. I'll never forget how tired we were when we made camp that night. We had just enough time to build a fire and heat up rocks to stick in the bottom of our sleeping bags so we'd stay warm. Then came the rain. It was torrential rain. It's amazing that it didn't take our tent and all of us down the mountain, but somehow, we stayed grounded that evening.
The next morning, we were tired, hungry, sore, and still had the hardest climb ahead. I remember waking up and seeing the peak of Pecos Baldy. We were camped at the bottom of a cliff leading up to it. I remember thinking, "I've seen it, and I've really gone far enough. Let's go home." But, I had already come that far, so even though some stayed behind at camp, I began up the final trail with my brother, grandmother and grandfather.
As we started up, rain clouds moved in again. But we were determined to make it to the top. After negotiating all of the switchbacks, we finally made it to the top. I can't describe that view. It was absolutely breathtaking! I could see the top of every other mountain in the range. They looked like little stepping stones from our viewpoint. But what I remember most was the feeling of accomplishment. I had pushed, I had stuck it out with all of those boys, and I reached my goal. And what an amazing reward--the view and the tremendous sense of accomplishment! I praise God every time I think of that moment--for the splendor and beauty of His creation.
Since then, every time I've encountered something I didn't think I could handle, I've remembered that moment. Physically, I've never endured anything so tough (except maybe the 10 days I spent in Eastern Cuba). But what I learned was that if I perservered and didn't give up, anything was possible. It was a life lesson in just a few days' journey.
I believe that is a glimpse of the type of perserverence Paul writes about in Philippians 3:12-14:
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
God has a job for me in His Kingdom. He has set forth many goals. The journey has already been long, but Paul challenges us to forget what is behind us--in other words, don't look back. He tells us to keep pushing forward--there are even better things to come! Our Pastor's series, "Fit for Life" reminded me of this journey to Pecos Baldy. It reminds me that every day, I'm on a Heavenly journey. I need to keep my eyes focused on the goal. I need to continue to press on, striving toward what is ahead. I need to make sure that I keep my eyes on the prize "...for which God has called me..." not the prizes of this world. There is much work to do. I'm just thankful that God allows me to be a part of His incredible Kingdom work!
Thank You Lord for teaching us so much through our everyday experiences. Thank You for not being only a God of the past, but a God of the present and the future. Thank You for the lessons You teach me daily. Thank You for being a God who doesn't constantly remind us of our failures, but reminds us of our successes. Thank You for Paul and his writings to the church of Philippi--the encouragement it brings to us as we press on towards Your goals. Sustain us, encourage us, and help us keep our focus on You.
Well, I set off on this backpacking trip. It was my grandmother, me and another lady and then about 10 guys. My grandparents taught us to pack smart. We had our tent and sleeping bag, some beef jerky, trail mix, water, a couple of extra pairs of socks, etc. But, they didn't allow us to overpack. I'll never forget the other lady that came brought a wash tub so she could wash her clothes and bathe (not important to this story, but it was quite a sight, seeing her poor husband carrying that washtub on his back!). She also wore her brand new "outdoorsman" designer hiking shorts. We were going through brush, and it was going to get very cold at night. She looked like she had just stepped out of a Banana Republic advertisement, but obviously, she wasn't a seasoned backpacker.
Anyway, we hiked the entire day--something like 8 miles through the mountains with our packs on our backs. It was rugged. I'll never forget how tired we were when we made camp that night. We had just enough time to build a fire and heat up rocks to stick in the bottom of our sleeping bags so we'd stay warm. Then came the rain. It was torrential rain. It's amazing that it didn't take our tent and all of us down the mountain, but somehow, we stayed grounded that evening.
The next morning, we were tired, hungry, sore, and still had the hardest climb ahead. I remember waking up and seeing the peak of Pecos Baldy. We were camped at the bottom of a cliff leading up to it. I remember thinking, "I've seen it, and I've really gone far enough. Let's go home." But, I had already come that far, so even though some stayed behind at camp, I began up the final trail with my brother, grandmother and grandfather.
As we started up, rain clouds moved in again. But we were determined to make it to the top. After negotiating all of the switchbacks, we finally made it to the top. I can't describe that view. It was absolutely breathtaking! I could see the top of every other mountain in the range. They looked like little stepping stones from our viewpoint. But what I remember most was the feeling of accomplishment. I had pushed, I had stuck it out with all of those boys, and I reached my goal. And what an amazing reward--the view and the tremendous sense of accomplishment! I praise God every time I think of that moment--for the splendor and beauty of His creation.
Since then, every time I've encountered something I didn't think I could handle, I've remembered that moment. Physically, I've never endured anything so tough (except maybe the 10 days I spent in Eastern Cuba). But what I learned was that if I perservered and didn't give up, anything was possible. It was a life lesson in just a few days' journey.
I believe that is a glimpse of the type of perserverence Paul writes about in Philippians 3:12-14:
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
God has a job for me in His Kingdom. He has set forth many goals. The journey has already been long, but Paul challenges us to forget what is behind us--in other words, don't look back. He tells us to keep pushing forward--there are even better things to come! Our Pastor's series, "Fit for Life" reminded me of this journey to Pecos Baldy. It reminds me that every day, I'm on a Heavenly journey. I need to keep my eyes focused on the goal. I need to continue to press on, striving toward what is ahead. I need to make sure that I keep my eyes on the prize "...for which God has called me..." not the prizes of this world. There is much work to do. I'm just thankful that God allows me to be a part of His incredible Kingdom work!
Thank You Lord for teaching us so much through our everyday experiences. Thank You for not being only a God of the past, but a God of the present and the future. Thank You for the lessons You teach me daily. Thank You for being a God who doesn't constantly remind us of our failures, but reminds us of our successes. Thank You for Paul and his writings to the church of Philippi--the encouragement it brings to us as we press on towards Your goals. Sustain us, encourage us, and help us keep our focus on You.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
On Top of Pecos Baldy
...what a memory!
