The following is a speech I had to write and deliver for a chapel service at my private school. I removed some things and put it into blog post format to make it easier to read but it still may sound better read aloud rather than in your head.
.....I was having a hard time knowing what to speak about until on Tuesday a friend sent me some wisdom. She said, "Life is a journey that each of us most make on our own, because when all is said and done, I am responsible for me and you are responsible for you. There are many who have gone before, many who will come behind, and many who are on the same pilgrimage of life, butwe must all walk the journey with our own two feet."
This helped me realize something. There is no message that can give the answer to all the problem in life. Why? because life is a journey that each of us must walk it for ourselves. Family and friends can support and strengthen us but ultimately I’m responsible for my life and you're responsible for yours. The best thing I think we can do is simply to share the wisdom of life. So as a friend, as a brother because of Christ and as another human being on the same journey of life I offer you some wisdom...may it serve you well. It's wisdom that has never failed me and I'm certain it will never fail you if you apply it. The wisdom is this, God will be as involved in your life as you make room for Him to be. Notice I didn't say as much as you want Him to be invovled. We all want God to be involved in some sense. Or we want the power, or the peace, or the joy that always comes when God enters into a life but it's not something we will really put any work into. It's like good grades. Everyone here want’s good grades but the people who get them are the people who make room in their life for getting good grades. They disciples themselves and sacrifice things for their good grades. It works the same with God. Wanting Him around isn't enough, we need to clear space and make room for Him if we want Him to actually be involved.
I was reading a book a few weeks ago and the author said something very profound. He’s a french monk and he wrote this “how many people receive the grace of God but fail to benefit by it because they don't accept the truth that comes with grace.” Seriously I think this describes most of us in the room. We accept God’s grace and He moves into our hearts. We let Him forgive our sins and we watch as He washes us clean through Christ's blood. Than we look forward to going to heaven when we die. But then we fail to accept the truth of Christianity. We don’t accept the truth that say’s God want’s to fix us and make us perfect not just forgive us and leave us as we are. We forget the truth that says, "God doesn't want us to be slaves to sin anymore, or slaves to our circumstances, our emotions or our pasts. We simply forget and because we don’t accept this truth we make God stay there, imprisoned in our hearts. We don’t let him out so that he can do anything. We don’t experience any of the cool things of Christianity because we never actually give God a chance to change us. Our lives are so busy that God simply fades into the background and we forget about Him. I remember reading Sherlock Holmes when I was first learning to enjoy reading and one quote I’ll always remember was Holmes talking to Watson about why he was so good at solving mysteries and he said, “Watson, every human being is like an attic and most people's attics are full of clutter. My attic is perfectly organized” It seems this is the way life often is. Our lives are like old attics full of clutter. They are confusing and unorganized. It’s hard to find the things we need and it’s hard to add new things because there is no easy place to put stuff without it getting lost.
So I have two questions for us to think about. First, do we even want a life that God is involved in? most of us want Him but not enough to actually do anything about it. It’s hard work clearing out the clutter in our lives and if we let God into our lives we won’t ever be the same. We'll have to stop being selfish depressed, hateful and proud people.We won’t get our way much of the time and we’ll have to submit to what God thinks is best. After He’s changed us we’ll start being, pure, peaceful, joyful, wise, humble and full of love. Most of us wouldn't really be comfortable with a life like that. It’s strange abnormal and it would mean breaking habits some of which we’ve had all our lives. Habits like, I'm going to think about myself before I think about other people, or I'm going to worry about how I feel. So be honest with yourself and figure out, do I really want God involved in my life? If you don’t, don’t pretend your something your not. Self delusion is the first step on the road to insanity. Figure out who you are and if you don't like it than change yourself, but don't pretend your something you're not.
Second question, if you want Him in your life, what can you do to make room for Him? This is the application question, it’s the what do we do about it? part. The room we make for God in our lives He will always clean, and make perfect. Think about what you do everyday and ask how God can become a part of it. This is important because if God can’t become apart of the things in your life than they are probably a waste. So things like arguing and gossip and foolish entertainment, things that God hates will go away.. Things like school, friendships, free time are all things God can and wants to become apart of and we must let God become apart of those things.
Some of you I know don’t believe in God. Either you're an actual Atheist and or your a Christian just because your parents were Christian or because all your friends are Christian but really you don’t believe in God you don’t care about chapel or this message. I would challenge you to test God’s promises. In James 4:8 God promises that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. If we extend a hand towards Him, He promises to extend a hand towards us. So draw near to him like He says to and see what happens. I’m pretty certain if you approach Him humbly you won’t have to prove or disprove anything, He will prove His own existence to you.
In closing I think all of us can agree that life is confusing and complicated. Often it doesn't make sense, when we think about some of the things that happen in the world, or happen to us, or happen inside of us we become frustrated and angry because the things that happen are hard to understand and we don’t know how to respond. God know’s, but He also created this whole thing. Because He created it He probably has some good ideas about why things are the way they are and how we should respond to them. God also created this journey of life that all of us are walking and I think the God who created life probably has some good ideas about how to actually live it. Let’s not waste the things God has given us by ignoring His wisdom. Let’s accept the grace He offers along with the truth about how to live life and in that way we will begin to experience life as it was created to be.
*Wrap up with a reminder of the two questions and close in prayer*
