Now, I have been supremely blessed in this journey. I have a great church that has been so supportive and flexible with my work schedule, a wonderful family that is constantly encouraging and cheering me on, and most significantly a loving wife who has done everything from running through flash cards with me, to making pots and pots of coffee, to knowing when I need 8-10 hours of quiet, to consistently telling me how proud she is of me, to succeeding and thriving at her job while I worked part time... I'm extremely supported.
While I have been trying to process this oddly unsettling thing called graduation, that has been the consistent theme: I have been supported and loved the entire time, and at no point have I been left out on my own. But even though this is a time of celebration and relief... it is a time for me to reflect as well.
I know I have had people around me the entire time, and yet there have been times I complained, moaned, felt like throwing things against the wall, felt like giving up and flippin' burgers at McDonald's. What a pansy! I mean, this is just school, right? That's not to belittle things, but I haven't done this alone, I haven't been unprepared, and yet I have been a baby at times.
I think about Christ and all that he endured, and wonder just how alone he must have felt at times. This is the Son of God, eternally proceeding from the Father, who saw the foundations of all the world laid down, who understood the weight of his task from the beginning... talk about feeling like no one gets it! Yet he continued on, relying on the Father, praying, and being led to the point of his own death where he drank the cup of God's wrath for all humanity until finally he said, "It is finished."
[Christ] though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:6
My goal and prayer is that this phase of my life would be marked by the servant heart of Christ, not believing or acting as though I am owed anything, but relying on the power of God through the Holy Spirit that every tongue would confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
2 comments:
Dear Zachary,
We are so very proud of you. Build on the Seminary foundation, via the grace of God. And don't leave behind the rough edges of the "scraggily bearded young man." I fear that part of you is not getting enough credit for what the Almighty has done through that part of you. Over your 29 years, it is that core part of you that has such a huge impact on people as well as yourself.
That creation of God (the "kid" with the goatee) made a great athlete out of an average one. That Creation of God, pushed you to be a big part of "Beyond" that touched so many lives... when College Chapel was failing. That Creation of God is the part that moved you to learn musical instruments and learn them well. it is that part of you that has made you such a flexible and effective worship leader. It still does. That Creation of God is what empowered you to preach and win people over to the LORD long before there was a Seminary and or FPC in your life. It is that Creation of God, which is you, that inspired you to think out side the box and reach beyond the average. It is that part of you ( God's Creation) that God has used to help influence FPC to move from beyond the church downtown to the church it is.
It is that goateed "Kid" that God used to contribute largely to the success of FPC. Never forget where they were before you shaved... and where they are now. This has been a healthy/holy symbiotic relationship, and the symbiosis is hardly one sided.
Indeed... the folks at FPC and Seminary have had a huge impact on you, and this will be even more true as we move toward God's Kingdom coming in its fullness; however, I think the influence that God has used through your core self to impact the church (and His Kingdom) has the potential of being diluted in the view of how much they have done for you... and they have indeed done a lot. But don't let that core part of you disappear.
Always be willing to keep that core part of you close by. Keep that visionary... not so buttoned down Zachary some where in a place where God speaks in non-conventional ways. In doing so, you will find that this is the "stuff" of which prophets are made. It is that rugged (rough edged) part of you that can reach the next generation.
We always love you.
Dad.
My MT
What an awesome new blog and upgraded "Alive Spot" on Facebook. I enjoyed reading all of the entries on your blog and am so taken with your well-thought-out, but practical theology.
Then, when I read what your Dad wrote to you after your graduation, it brought tears to my eyes and I kept saying "AMEN!" Yes, keep thinking outside the box with that uncanny unconventional stuff. Keep looking where you're not supposed to look, cause as your DAD said, that's the stuff that prophets are made of!!
Zac, God's got His finger on you BIG TIME I hope you know and your humility at this point is a Holy Spirit magnet.
It's as tho you're my own flesh and blood and now along with the six cobs the Lord has blessed me with, you're the joy of my life!! Not to mention I get to work alongside of you!! Then to think we get a front row seat to the mighty acts of God at FPC. How priviledged we are to be servants of His grace and able to give Him glory.
Keep it up, you two, cause the cloud of witnesses in Heaven are cheering you on.
Love you man.
PT
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