April 26, 2010
What am I going to do after I graduate from Bible School?
This question is asked often – I like it, but at the same time, its a little unsettling because its a loaded question. A lot of people assume that I’ll become a priest or a minister – some sort of worker for God that has ascended beyond the human into the ‘God only’ realm. “Oh, there he goes – he now belongs to God – the Spencer we know is no more.”
Well, to be honest, that was my thought too. Sever all the ties – cast off all the past – its time to give myself to God and to carry out whatever His work is!
I’ve been appreciating that this is not what Bible school does to you. Loving God doesn’t mean working for God. This thought about ‘finding work that you love to do’ is no longer really my motto because when you stop loving it, you’re still doing it – and that just sucks.
The result of people who devote their lives to working for God as an occupation is that if they stop loving God, they are stuck working for God. This is probably the reason why there’s so many cases of priests who commit gross sin – they lost their reason to serve the Lord but are chained to do the Lord’s work. Then, they lose their vision, cast off all restraint, and try to do something to fill their emptiness.
Bible school doesn’t make you a worker of the Lord, but a lover of the Lord. This is much better!
With this in mind, I’ve been considering what I want to do after Bible school. One of the big goals that I want to do is to learn to be human. This is a principle of the New Testament – In the Old Testament, God is mostly just a judge and almost like a force that you call upon when you need help. However, in the new Testament, God came as a man, Jesus. This person was very approachable, was a friend of drunkards and partiers (tax collectors and sinners), came to those who were in need of healing – those depressed, empty persons who were struggling to find joy in the world. Those who were upright, self-righteous (godly) people God had nothing to do with.
The fact that Jesus was so human amazes me so much. He resisted being uplifted to attain a status. The Jews wanted Him to be ‘king’, but sorry, you cannot have a personal relationship with a king. Try to consider if you could meet with Pres. Obama in a normal, casual way – its impossible. He’s the president. There’s a barrier just because of that status.
Jesus resisted the Jew’s attempt to exalt Him as a king because He wanted to come to people as a friend. He had something that He could give to people – joy, comfort, healing, love – but what people need is just a friend who can come to you without making you feel self-conscious, condemned, unworthy, and altogether not peaceful – how can you be comforted or healed through that?
Ultimately, Jesus is the most normal human being who ever existed on the earth. He is the Friend of friends, the Lover of lovers, the top teacher, the closest brother. He is someone that you just want to hang out with, and eventually someone that you love. This is what it means to be a normal Christian – someone who loves the Lord.
I used to think that God had banned me from pursuing after a business, or that God had wanted me to drop all that I learned and just come and serve Him. However, this is not true at all. I love God a lot, and this love has freed me from a life of dead service to God. Now, He is giving me the option to go wherever I want to – be it graduate school, a business, or to work some practical things for Him a bit – it doesn’t matter because I love God and God loves me.
I have the full assurance in my being that no matter what I do outwardly as an occupation, I will grow in my love for the Lord and whatever I will do will be profitable. This is because God is with me.
