This weekend some friends and I went out on the boat with my family to hang and “live” our summer up by swimming and kicking back with some soda and chips. We talked a lot about what Jesus was doing in our lives and what this summer had beheld for us as we were away from the community of our private Christian school and each submerged in a different atmosphere for the summer.
Josh Olson got completely rocked this spring when I was at ywam and I heard a lot of him talking the talk but was really starting to see Jesus ooze out of him as he continues to walk the walk in front of me. This weekend was really encouraging for me to see someone so passionately in love with Jesus Christ that it pushed me to dive back into seeking Him. Josh was telling us this analogy about our sinful nature and how he saw our constant selfish behavior played out in a classroom. I changed and added a few things to this analogy, but thank you Josh for the initial idea! Snaps for josh! :]
You walk into class for the first day expecting to get the syllabus and to go over basic class things but instead the professor hands everyone a three page packet. He says, “This is a pop quiz on the entire classes material.” Everyone starts to murmer and some look around to see if anyone knows if the prof is kidding or not, as others start flipping through the packet realizing they know just about nothing on the test, especially not the essay question on the last page. Most kids voiced they weren’t even sure what the question was asking.
The prof next gave a proposition, “You can either take the quiz now and be done with it, attempting to choose the answers you don’t know based on your own knowledge or you can stay after class and wait for me to complete all of them myself in which you will get 100% and extra credit. It’s your choice.”
“Naturally we choose to take the pop quiz ourselves.” Jason explained, “although we know we don’t have a clue about what is on the test.“ And surely not much about the material or have zero power to decide the grade given at the end of the test which is largely based on our individual performance in professionalism and eloquence on the essay question.
Sadly we don’t want to wait after class for the prof, who made the test the night before, and who knows all the questions. This sounds absolutely proposterous to anyone thinking logical, don’t you think? Some may argue that we may have another class or appointment to get to, you didn’t.. it was a free night with no immediate plans. We choose to make plans, to busy our schedule, and to SAY we don’t have time to wait. We just want to do everything ourselves, we WANT control, we want to earn our grades, we want to earn the value we think we are labeled with. Jesus already made us his children, he created us and HE loves us far beyond our ability to comprehend. HE gave up is majestic throne, He GAVE up his omniscience, his all-knowing, timeless mind, His POWER and HIS control so that he could be at our level.. so that HE would understand our pain, and sorrow. So HE could die for something he created. For us whom He LOVES so extravagantly, so passionately, so deliberately and intentional that he SWEAT BLOOD praying for you. He endured pain so beyond physical pain that we don’t even understand the emotional ties that were severed when the father turned his face away that day. Jesus was abandoned by the very being his entirety was surrendered to; his CLOSEST, most intimate guidance, friendship, leader, wisdom, and father abandoned him on the cross to uphold his holy character. Father God turned his face away because the sin was oozing out of Jesus.
YOU DID THAT TO HIM. YOU are the reason GOD THE FATHER, TURNED HIS FACE AWAY.
How dare you think you have control over anything.. HOW DARE YOU think God doesn’t know better. HE created you, HE designed you, HE formed you in your mothers womb. Why do we think we have control? Why do we think we have the power in ourselves to do anything bigger and smarter than a God who created the heavens??
Surrender your life, surrender your plans, your decisions, your gifts, your talents, surrender your ideas, your goals and dreams. Jesus knows better than you, let HIM guide you. STOP trying to lead yourself. YOU can only lead yourself to destruction, you are sinful to the core, you are a disgrace on your own. JESUS is the only reason you can be anything, so let him wash you in the blood he shed, let him cleanse you from ALL your unrighteousness and give you new life. Surrender all you are to Jesus so that HE can work out HIS most perfect plans for your life.
Dear Samm, 