Declaration of Dependence

"We live under the illusion that if we can acquire complete control, we can understand God, or we can write the great American novel. But the only way we can brush against the hem of the Lord, or hope to be part of the creative process, is to have the courage, the faith, to abandon control. For the opposite of sin is faith, and never virtue, and we live in a world which believes that self-control can make us virtuous. But that's not how it works."

"Walking on Water"
Madeleine L'Engle

I was challenged on Sunday with a Jesus-focused helplessness. The Christian life; in reality, my life is full of paradoxes. A hurting father in the Gospel of Mark cries out, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” The father had confidence in the Lord, but could not see an end to his mess. I am praying that I find that same level of honesty in my own life. I don’t ask the Lord to help my unbelief; I choose to hide my mess under a veneer of with-itness.

That veneer creates an aura of self-righteousness. As I read the L’Engle quote above, my drive toward self-induced virtue was wrecked. And I feel equally shattered that my role and example in Christian education can contribute to young people endeavoring for virtue through self-control. Conformity to a standard is part of any community; therefore, schools have an established set of standards. However, it can never supplant our desperate need for a complete transformation of our heart, mind, and body (Romans 12:1-2, Philippians 3:21).

Jesus warns educators: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” That warning speaks straight to the heart of Christian education (and parenting). Whether my example leads to a grave moral failure or to a self-induced virtue, I am causing a little one to stumble. My students live in the same mess that I do. Leading them to conformity will not fix the mess. The solution for all of us is complete dependence on Jesus Christ.

Recently, my wife shared this quote from Pastor Kerry Willis during recent chapel at her school: “Jesus Christ does not want to be part of my life. He does not want to be the center of my life. He does not want to be the most important thing in my life. He wants to BE my life.” Our mess is transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ: we were bought with a price. “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”

I want to thank Pastor David O’Dowd, Covenant Presbyterian Church, and Pastor Kerry Willis, Harrisonburg First Church of the Nazarene, for faithfully proclaiming God’s Word and speaking straight to our greatest need, Jesus Christ.