It’s good to be back. I
heard such good things about worship the Sundays I was away; I think this is
the first time in my ministry that I’ve been away from the pulpit three Sundays
in a row. Being gone that long, one
starts to wonder if he’ll be welcomed back, especially when the likes of Nancy
Fowler and Doc Rogers did such a good job moving and inspiring people in my
absence.
But here I am, and here you are, so things can’t be too bad,
right? The fact that you’re here and I’m
here is, in and of itself a blessing, is it not? I’m speaking sincerely. Yes, I was blessed by my time away, but I am
also blessed by being in this place, and I’m blessed by your presence here this
morning.
What was I doing while I was away? Well, you already know a little bit, if
you’ve read the Fellowship News. I spent
one week counseling fifty 9th and 10th graders at Loch
Leven, the camp and conference center that is owned and managed by Bixby Knolls
Christian Church and the other congregations of the Pacific Southwest
Region.
And then I spent a week at Camp Makualla with 21 scouts from
Troop 29, the boy scout troop for which Bixby Knolls Christian Church is the
chartered organization. I don’t know if
you realize it or not, but because we are the chartered organization for Troop
29, it really is “our” troop. Our
church’s name is on the troop flag. And
I want you to know, those 21 scouts represented our church well. It was a 24 hour train ride to the camp in
Oregon, and the attendant on our train car – who has seen many scout groups
ride up to camp on the train over the years – said ours was one of the best
he’s ever worked with.
Anyway, as I mentioned in my newsletter article, the first day
of scout camp means swim tests for all the campers, and all the adult leaders
too if they plan on going in or near the water.
Well, in the afternoon there is a steady breeze coming in off of
Crescent Lake, which whips the water up pretty good, and which keeps a slight
chill in the air. I and several other
adults felt comfortable in deciding that we didn’t really need to go swimming
while at camp, and we were prepared to sit and watch as the scouts all took
their swim tests.
There is an L-shaped dock
which keeps the water between it and the shore somewhat calmer, and that is where
most of the kids took their swim tests.
As I watched, sitting comfortably on the shore, I couldn’t help but feel
that I should be out there as well.
After all, I didn’t volunteer to come to camp to sit and watch.
So, at the very last minute, as the last group of scouts were
taking their swim tests, I pulled off my shoes and socks and headed out to the
dock.
To my surprise, the lifeguard instructed me to jump in on the
far side of the dock, where the waves were higher.
Contrary to what we had been promised, the lake is not
heated. That, combined with waves
smashing into my face as I swam, made it very difficult to breathe. I completed most of the laps, but realized
that I had no breath left to finish.
However, I was surprised again when, walking up the shore, I
realized that I felt good. Really
good. I did not pass the swim test, but
I had said “yes” to the challenge. I had
made the decision to NOT sit idly by, but to jump in, get wet, and put forth my
best effort. And that felt good.
Right then and there, I realized that if I wanted to get the
most out of the week at camp – and if I wanted to help the scouts I was with
get the most out of their week at camp – I needed to say “yes” to every opportunity I could.
I might feel like sitting at a picnic table under the shade of a fir
tree, and there were moments when I did just that (including the hour I spent
writing my newsletter article, and halfway through looked up to see a pair of
bald eagles fly by), but if that’s all I did, sitting and watching, I would
miss out on so much. So at the moment
that I emerged from the water, dripping wet, shivering slightly, yet feeling
really good, I resolved to say “yes” to every opportunity for adventure that
came my way that week.
Friends, this is what following Jesus is all about. This is what believing is all about. It’s
about saying “yes,” and jumping in.
In the scripture today, it says: “Whoever believes has eternal
life.” Somehow, over the centuries, the
meaning of the words in this sentence have changed, so that to many people
today, it sounds like it is quite possible to just sit at that picnic table in
the shade and say, “I affirm that Jesus is the messiah,” and watch as the world
goes by.
But that is not what the scripture means by believing.
As I’ve mentioned before, to believe is to be-love. It is to commit
your whole heart and your whole life to the one in whom you are placing your
trust. To believe in someone doesn’t simply mean that you affirm that a
statement about that person is
true. It means that you commit yourself to living as that person
taught, and doing all that he taught. It
means saying “yes” to the way of life he demonstrated.
There is no such thing as belief without action. There is no such thing as faith without
works. Yes, at one time the church
emphasized actions and works as hoops one had to jump through in order to
achieve salvation. The Reformation
corrected this, but ever since the pendulum has swung too far to the other
side, and people came to understand that all one had to do to live a Christian
life was to agree to certain doctrinal statements, namely that Jesus was God’s
son.
Believing means more than nodding your head. Believing means believing in, putting your trust in Jesus. It’s a lot more than just believing that Jesus exists, or that he is God’s
son.
Believing in Jesus means believing what he said is true. And if you believe what he said is true, then
it will be unavoidable that your life will be changed. Dramatically.
Radically. Irrevocably.
You will be granted new vision, to see the world through God’s
eyes. Every act of injustice, every sign
of inequality, will be to you a great offense.
Every act of love, every sign of hope, will be to you the greatest joy.
And you will be committed to righting wrongs and bringing hope
and joy to those around you. You will
know that Jesus spoke the truth when he said your life will be fulfilled and
you will have meaning and purpose when you live for others, when you give of
yourself to others, when you make of yourself a living sacrifice for others.
This kind of living is referred to in scripture as the life of
the ages, or – as it is often translated – the eternal life. It is a misunderstanding of scripture to
think that the eternal life refers only to what happens after our bodies
die. In the same way, it is a
misunderstanding of scripture to think that salvation refers only to what
happens after our bodies die.
Salvation and the eternal life are available starting right now
to those who believe in Jesus. Whoever
believes is living the eternal life.
Starting right now.
Also, it is a misunderstanding of the kingdom of God to think
that the kingdom is only available to us after we die. The kingdom is present within you and among
you. It is present whenever people work
to bring healing and wholeness to those around them. It is present when those who believe in Jesus
love others as he loved, and show compassion the way he showed compassion.
In the kingdoms of this world, it’s always, “what’s in it for
me?” but in the kingdom of God, it’s
always, “what’s in it for us?”
In the kingdoms of this world, people are always grabbing as
much as they can for themselves, and they really resent having to share. In the kingdom of God, people are filled with
generosity, and willingly share, freely, following the example of Christ who
shared everything he had – even his own life – with us.
And in this sharing, koinonia
– true community – is formed.
The earliest Christians knew what it was like to live in koinonia. They didn’t just sit at a picnic table in the
shade and affirm that Jesus was God’s son, that he died and rose again. To them, that wasn’t faith. That wasn’t believing. Faith and believing, to them, was
sharing. It was radically changing one’s
way of life so that it would conform with the teachings of Jesus. It was saying “yes” to Jesus’ invitation to
leave everything behind, and follow him.
In the 2nd chapter of Acts, it says that “all who believed were together and had all
things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute
the proceeds to all, as any had need.
Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke
bread … and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and
having the goodwill of the people. And
day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved” [Acts 2:44-47].
For these earliest believers, believing meant embarking on a radically different lifestyle. It meant voluntarily sharing what they had
with the community, for the community.
Some say that this sounds like communism or socialism. Well, communism and socialism is compulsory
and enforced by law, while the sharing that took place among the early
Christians was voluntary and motivated by love.
The point is that their love for Christ – their devotion to Christ – led
them to do something. It led them to
act. It led them to say “yes” and jump
in to living a Christ-oriented lifestyle.
All this is what happens when one believes in Jesus.
This is the community that exists at Loch Leven. Two weeks ago when I was counseling CYF 1
camp, my fellow counselors and I worked hard to share the love of God with the
fifty campers we had, to build in them the faith and belief that would allow
them to experience the eternal life, the life of the ages, the life of meaning
and wholeness that comes to those who follow the way of Christ.
We’re not perfect, any of us, but my fellow counselors and I did
our best to love the campers unconditionally so that they might in turn learn
to love unconditionally.
It’s hard work being a counselor. It’s hard work being a follower of
Christ. It means saying “yes” to every
opportunity for service, every opportunity to show love, every opportunity to
give of oneself.
How blessed we were at Vacation Bible School, to have had so
many people give up a week of sitting in the shade, and say “yes” to help us
present such a wonderful program to the children of our community. Without all those “yesses,” we wouldn’t have
had a Vacation Bible School. It takes a
lot of hard work to put on a week of Vacation Bible School.
Not everyone can do every task.
Not everyone has the physical capability to run around the church with a
bunch of children, or to jump into a lake in the mountains with a group of
scouts. But there is a task for every
person. No matter what your physical
condition, there is something to which God is calling you, something to which
you can respond by saying, “yes.”
And when you do, you will experience the eternal life in all its
fullness. You will experience the
kingdom that is within you. You will
experience healing, wholeness, and salvation.
Saying “yes” to every opportunity God presents leads to
wonderful blessings. I think every
person involved in helping out at VBS would say that they were blessed by the
experience. I know I was. Yes, it was hard work, but the rewards were
immeasurable. To see the joy in a child
who discovers that he or she is loved unconditionally, and to see their faith
grow and deepen, is a blessing that surpasses any other.
In the same way, my decision to say “yes” at camp resulted in
numerous blessings. I have already
received comments from parents of some of the scouts who say their sons had the
best time of their lives, including the parent of one scout who, before camp,
wasn’t even sure he wanted to continue in scouting. I said “yes,” and ended up canoeing with
these scouts, kayaking with them, hiking with them, and even swimming with
them; when the wind and water were calmer, I tried again, and completed the
swim test. It was all physically
exhausting, and I could have easily sat and watched all week. Indeed, when it came to swimming, I came very
close to doing just that.
But instead I demonstrated my belief and my commitment by
jumping in, and in return I experienced a never-ending stream of blessings.
To believe is to “be-love.” It’s to believe in something so
strongly that you commit yourself to it whole-heartedly. Whoever believes in something like this will
experience the eternal life, the life of meaning, purpose, and wholeness.
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