SGA Chaplain

Past Devotionals

Just say yes; March 9, 2008

Just say yes. Why don’t we hear this more often? I think we are all familiar with the slogan “Just say no.” In our daily lives, we are called to submit to God and his commands. I suppose we could frame this submission as saying no to our own temptations, or no to ourselves. In fact this way of seeing the question would appear to me to be quite the norm. But really, in doing this, we aren’t learning to say no, but rather to say yes. For the important question is how we respond to God, not to one another or ourselves. These may be related factors, but what we actually ought to be striving for is to answer God. And that answer is to obey Him, to answer yes. Sometimes, this can even be to do the things that we want or know will be good for us. Yet the very fact that it has been commanded of us makes the decision harder. Saying yes does not always require an equal no. It does, however, require our whole focus and motive to be on Him who has asked the question. From experience, it seems that often the hardest part comes in saying yes. And our current focus on no has perhaps backfired in helping us to answer with the negative when the response required ought to be the affirmative. So maybe what we really need are bumper stickers, T-shirts, and seminars teaching us to “Just say yes.”

I have a lot of enemies; February 8, 2008

I have a lot of enemies. And while my particular personality may be more paranoid than your average Houghtonite and therefore prone to flights of fancy, I am not speaking of the cartoon nemesis kind of enemies. I mean simply the people who I have trouble liking, or the people who have wronged me, or the people who stand antagonistically against some of my most cherished values. They are people in whom evil can readily be seen. Yet what must be remembered is that in all of these people there is a beautiful and beloved soul crafted by God. And because it is God it is good and praiseworthy. Often it can be easy to want to see conflict, or to be more dramatic, battles with our enemies as a mission to destroy and vanquish. This may actually be the case, but in a much different sense. What is often forgotten is what exactly we are vanquishing. We must choose our strategies, our battle plans, with the praiseworthy spark of God in mind. We are out to destroy the evil. The evil which is all of us. And when we come into conflict with another the question to ask is not, how can I ruin them? It is, rather, how can I help to free and unchain them? We must vanquish evil, and when at all possible do this by pointing at God and awaking them further. And as we set out do this we must always remember that ultimately we are accountable for our own inequities, the evil we do and are, and for the ways we have seen, encouraged, and prompted the good, which we all ought to see is really just that which God.

Blank comic strips are worthwhile; January 27, 2008

Blank comic strips are worthwhile. Now, I understand why their existence may seem like a waste or simply ridiculous to some. But consider a moment the concept of a strip. Every week the artist draws us something new to bring a certain regularity to our expectations and experiences. But what happens when there just isn’t anything to draw one week? Such a concept seems plausible for sometimes in life we just don’t have anything to say. That is not to infer that nothing is happening, or that we have ceased to learn or listen. In fact, sometimes our silence deepens the more we have to hear. But if there is nothing to draw then why bother publish anything at all, you ask? Well, maybe it is because the artist doesn’t want us to break the habit of looking. Imagine one Sunday morning opening up the paper to find that your favorite comic strip was gone and replaced by a single sentence notifying you that there was nothing new to draw that week. It would be like you had been let down, as if something in your schedule had sadly altered and a commitment had been broken. But then imagine if the same comic were to appear but due to the artist’s lack maintain a lower standard, an empty shadow of what they usually draw. I see this as almost worse, for it would have lost the heart or point yet attempted to cover this fact with soulless mediocrity. Sometimes the best thing we can do is to honestly and accurately state that in a given moment there is nothing to share, not yet, at least not in a certain forum. And to do this with integrity is to communicate this current lack of message the way every other thought is shared. To draw a comic strip which is blank.

Snow gets dirty; January 19, 2008

Snow gets dirty. I love snow after it has freshly fallen. A soft white covering that lightly brightens the whole world around us. It transforms some of the most mundane or even ugly landscapes. But then it settles, is trampled, is mixed with dirt and grime and even dissolved away by salt. What was once white and unadulterated becomes dingy and unappealing. The purity lies in consistent snowfalls, a continual freshness. The analogy being washed white as snow seems to be commonly used in Christian circles. But I think we often stop with the image of a magical white wonderland. We forget the dirty settled slush it can so easily degenerate into. To maintain our purity we mush freshly renew the snowfall. We can’t just let it sit around and watch the once pure snow slowly become tainted and tired until one day it has all melted away. Our own purity and righteousness can’t rest on the excuses of something that happened solely in the past. And this goes for places just as much as people. How do we measure our own faithfulness and devotion? Well, look out the window and see if the snow is falling still.

Everyone loves William Wilberforce; January 14, 2008

Everyone loves William Wilberforce. But this is what I think people ought to remember most from the film “Amazing Grace” which has brought Wilberforce into the trendy limelight. He had, as the line goes, “Work to do.” And then he did it. Through the triumphs and trials, commitment to Truth called him to continue working to do what he knew was his job. It took a long time, and wore on him as a burden. Such is a picture of real leadership which is perhaps one of the most realistic portraits I have yet to observe manifested in our popular culture. Not only because he felt both the praise and censure of society during his crusade. But also because he knew that what he was working for was something so much greater than himself. We are called to a complete surrender. To do such is perhaps one of the most challenging things we could ever accomplish for it is a constant submission to Christ and death to self. In the end this is what truly makes us the Children of God. So I challenge that we all find what our work is - where we are. Yet not for our own sake, but for His. Know who you are working for. Then do the task He has called you to. Tirelessly, and with steadfast dedication. And once it is done, and only then, rest in the knowledge that you have succeeded in that which is greater. Not for a reception of pomp and self glory. But in the quiet peace of mind which allows you to at last place your head on your pillow and be embraced by a rest deeper than we can fathom. Work to that end, for the One True God and then perhaps we will actually be a people who say we love Wilberforce. Say this not by our words (or film choices), but with our actions, in truth.

I don't like writing devotional thoughts; January 8, 2008

I don't like writing devotional thoughts. However, I now find myself in a position where to write and give them is my main responsibility in the SGA. The experience thus far has had more than it’s share of frustrations but I will say that in attempting to do this I have learned some valuable insights into our continued feeble attempt to walk toward our Savior. Perhaps the most important is to see both the depth and simplicity of what we hold on to as core elements of what it means to call ourselves “Christians.” I am rarely known for the brevity of my thoughts, yet planning and reading devotions can teach us that often the words which mean the most are the shortest to deliver. Any good elementary school student learns this lesson when studying the Gettysburg address. Although I know of several ministers (and perhaps you are thinking of a few now too) who could perhaps use this fourth grade refresher. And so, this semester I shall attempt to post devotions every week which correspond with the messages that I will be sharing with the student senate. And hopefully, if nothing else, we will begin to learn together the powerful depth the simple thoughts of our faith can possess. And for everyone's sake, I will endeavor to learn how to reveal such truth with the concise crafting of good ole' Abe.

Back to the Chaplain's page »