Dear SCC & Friends,
What shall we do? ~John 6:28
Reflection #180
Our faith is not to be a spectator sport managed by professional clergy with a weekly check-in on Sunday morning. There is something in human nature that hastens to delegate and relegate responsibility to the expertise of others. Am I a forgetful hearer or an effectual doer? Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. ~James 1:22-24 The most important thought that ever occupied my mind is that of my individual responsibility to God. ~Daniel Webster~ There is a big difference between reading a book about “hang gliding” versus getting into a harness, leaping off a cliff and soaring far above the safety and security of terra firma. It is in doing that we grasp the difference between shadow and substance.
I was 24 years old at a job interview when the interviewer said, “You know I like you, but what have you done?” “What do you mean?” “I mean just that, what have you done?” It was a bit unnerving, so I humbly boasted of my high school and college exploits. I then went on to mention my year of combat in Viet Nam as an infantry officer, highlighting the diverse leadership challenges in the midst of doubt and danger. His response was even more unnerving… “Okay, I get that, but what have you done?” At that point I thought apparently not much… He didn’t even thank me for my service, which is now customary. Truth be told, I’m so glad I didn’t get the job, but it was one of the best interviews I ever had, as it challenged me to take stock of my life. Cheap grace is about talk and image, but God’s grace is never cheap or available at a discount. He paid a debt He did not owe. I owed a debt I could not pay. What have you done? I’m okay with not much… He’s done it all… For of His fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace. ~Jn. 1:16 Keep up the good work!
In His service,
Kevin