The Upload
Posted on Aug 08, 2014 by
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray you had a blessed week.
When I graduated from high school, I thought college would be a “piece of cake.” I had gotten straight “A”s in high school, and there was no reason to think college would be any different. Then, after just a few weeks of college classes, I had my first college exam. It was in my history class, and after the exam I felt good…that is, until the professor handed back my exam with a failing grade and said, “Mr. Whetter, you need to make an appointment to see me.” I was devastated! I didn’t understand what I had done wrong. I knew the stuff. Why had he been so hard on me?
When I arrived at his office the next day, as I sat down he said, “Mr. Whetter, why are you here?” I thought the question was silly, but I responded by saying, because you gave me a failing grade on my exam and because you told me to make an appointment with you. He smirked and said, that wasn’t my question, I want to know why you are here, at college. Oh, I thought, that is a different question.
In our Old Testament text for this Sunday (1 Kings 19:9-18), Elijah is feeling sorry for himself. Things have been difficult for him. The Israelites haven’t listen to him. Other prophets have been killed and he fears for his life. He feels alone, and he wants God to fix things, and he heads off to a cave to be alone. But God shows up, listens to his griping, and then sends him out of the cave where God would show him that he was not alone. As Elijah stood outside the cave, he experienced all kinds of catastrophes, winds so strong they destroyed mountains, an earthquake and fire, but God was not in those terrible things, God was in the silence and the calm. In other words, God was trying to share with Elijah that in the midst of the terrible things this world would do to Elijah he need not fear, for God will ALWAYS be with him. After experiencing this, God again asked Elijah why he was at the cave, and even after experiencing God, Elijah gave the same answer, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away" (19:14). After hearing Elijah’s response again, God says, “Elijah, quit feeling sorry for yourself, go, do my work, do the work I called you to do which is to anoint kings and prophets, share my word, and if anyone tries to harm you, I will be with you. Now, go!” Elijah thought his call was going to be easy. God never said it would be easy, but God did say it was important.
Like Elijah, I thought college would be easy, but my history professor caught me slacking. When I told him I was there because he gave me a failing grade, he said, “I didn’t give you that grade; you earned it.” That hurt! But as I sat there, I realized he was right. The work I did on the exam was minimal effort. As he noted, the work I did on the exam was high school-level work, but now I was in college and if I was going to succeed, if I was going to graduate and be prepared to go to work in the world, I was going to have to “up my game!” You see, the point of going to college was not to get good grades, it was to learn and to prepare myself for my future, and if I was only going to “skate” through with minimal effort, I would not learn anything. My history professor was right, I needed to try harder and do what I had gone to college to do. I needed to challenge myself to think differently and stretch myself to learn more. Why was I at college? My purpose was to be transformed into a new person, to graduate as one who was prepared to begin a new life. My purpose was not to skate through with easy grades.
At the end of that conversation, my professor had lightened up on his aggressive attitude. He told me it would be very hard to overcome this failed exam, but it was possible. He told me I would need to change and I would need to apply myself. When I left his office that day, I left with a new attitude and a new understanding of why I was at college. I didn’t get an “A” in that class, but I did go and do what I needed to do the rest of the semester. He pushed me, he challenged me, and when I got my first “B,” I never felt better. I had done what I had come to do. I actually learned something!
God has called all of us into his mission. It is hard work, but he calls us and challenges us to stretch ourselves, to not fear those things that seem impossible, and to know that, in the midst of the storms of our lives, he is there with us and he will be the one holding us and calming the rough seas around us.
Have a blessed week!
Shalom,
Pastor Dave