1st Day of School

Today is the first day of school for most of the kids in the DFW area.   Yesterday, I asked many kids the same question  as I talked to them at church, "Are you excited for your first day?"  First graders all answered with an eager and emphatic yes.  The junior high students were a little iffy, and most of the high school kids I asked gave a flat out "no".  I imagine this morning various households were filled with younger runs running to the door to get to school and teens dragging themselves (or being dragged) out of bed.  The range of reactions is no mystery.   The young ones have been told that going to school will be an exciting new adventure where they will learn a lot and make new friends.  The older ones have experienced the fun but are focused on the homework, the tests, and the friendship drama that also occurs in the hallways and cafeterias, so they know it is not all roses.

I could not help but make the connection between these students and all of us Christ-followers.  When I think back to my first days as a new believer, I was so excited to be at church every Sunday morning and Wednesday night for worship, Bible study, and pretty much anything they had going on.  I'd had enough of life without a relationship with God, so the promise of this new community, new opportunity to grow, and simply being made new was exhilarating.  Reading my Bible, listening to great messages, and singing songs of praise seemed like the greatest privilege and I dove into it all.  Over a decade later, I see that same reaction from so many new believers at church.  The enthusiasm and energy from the new Christians, the "first graders" of the church,  is contagious as they dive into serving and take in all the teaching they can.

The rest of us are the junior high and high schoolers of the church.  We've lived as believers long enough to know that it takes work, not to earn our relationship with God, but to obey Him.  We know that there are tests and trials that come with being a believer that can be very difficult to get through.  We've experienced the loneliness that comes from having to distance ourselves from friends who were pulling us away from our faith.  We know that life as a Christ-follower is not all roses.  Which might explain why some of us find ourselves dragging like those teenagers.

However, like those teenagers, our problem is that we focus too much on the negatives and forget the positives of the life we get to live.  When I look back on high school along with all those not so fun elements, I remember laughter, fun, new discoveries, and lasting friendships that have stood the test of time.  We need to look back on our experiences as believers and focus not on what has been hard, but on the joy and peace, the faithfulness of our God, the freedom from past strongholds, and the security of having the Holy Spirit present in our daily lives from moment to moment.

We should walk with purposeful strides knowing that God is on our side and has prepared the path that is before us, not drag as though we dread what is coming.  Whatever is coming, God is ready for it, and that makes us ready too.  Whatever we face, God can handle, which means we can handle it if we submit to Him.  We have been promised  peace that surpasses understanding, unspeakable joy, and immeasurable grace.  When we think about all of this, we can shake off the teenage attitude and go back to being the first grader wearing our new outfit with our brand new backpack strapped on our back stepping into our day with a big smile and an expectant heart.