I have made it successfully through my first out of four semesters of the masters in music program at the University of Montana. I survived. That is almost all I can say about it: I survived. I did not thrive, I did not fall apart, I simply survived. I used to think this an accomplishment. I proudly bragged about my survival to friends, pastors, parents, everyone who had ears.
This past week I had the opportunity to go up to Winter Park, CO, to the Snow Mountain Ranch (a fantastic place - you should all go visit sometime) to hang out with colleagues from Worldview Academy. First of all, this fed me in so many ways. Being able to spend time with people who constantly build you up and encourage you non-stop is where we should all be all the time. Beyond that, however, and even farther than the amazing sessions led by Institute of Biblical Defense founder Phil Fernandes, and Worldview Academy faculty-members Paul Jordan and Bill Jack, I was reminded of what I am meant to do on this earth.
This was a lesson I had learned repeatedly over this past summer, but it is easy to forget lessons learned at camp when one returns to the "drudgery" of everyday life:
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:20-28 ESV)
We are called to be like Christ, therefore we are called to serve and not to be served. I had completely forgotten this during my time at the University of Montana. Part of the problem in my mind was that I had just come from the warm embrace of Whitworth University where I had worship every Tuesday night, chapel every Tuesday and Thursday morning, a church right next to campus when I chose to go, small groups that dogged me everywhere I went (in a great way), and no challenge to find these things for myself. Now, don't get me wrong. I do not wish to be rude to my alma mater. She served me well and I love her for it. But now it comes time for me to grow up and learn that I no longer should simply be a consumer, looking for a church that feeds me, people that feed me, a school that parents me.
What does this mean for the near future? It means I'm going to work hard at finding a church home where I can serve people. It means that I will invest even more in my myriad students' lives. It means that I can no longer simply survive. I must begin to thrive. The only way this can happen is if I look at the world as a place to serve and not continually look for the pearl the world must be under obligation to give me. I remember a children's book about a grasshopper who walked the world wide singing his song about how the world owed him everything at it was just his job to eat and drink and be merry. Until he met a group of ants who showed him how important it was to find ways to give back to the world.
New Year's Resolution? More like Rest-of-My-Life Resolution: Live to serve and not to be served.
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