I turned 43 yesterday (October 13, 1971). Some of you were there when I was born (again). I know, you think I look older; well, I’ve packed a lot of life into these 43 years, I gotta lot of miles on me:) Seriously, it was 43 years ago last night I was baptized into Christ. I had grown up in the religious south unimpressed in general with church going. That summer my brother & hero, ten years older than me, had fallen in love with the bible. He had been my role model/father since dad left when I was a baby; I wasn’t interested in church or bible, but I would listen to him about anything because he had believed in me when I didn’t. I began reading the bible. That fall I moved to Auburn University, in my mind to study engineering but in God’s mind to learn about Him. The Greek word disciple means student or learner; I became a learner 43 years ago, and each year I realize learning about Jesus is a lifetime investment. I could get a PhD in astrophysics in 2-4 years and I would be considered an expert (compared to the rest of us anyway). In fact one of the big mistakes among believers and religious people is that after many years & much learning we think we’ve arrived, we know it all. Jesus turned all our genius upside down, telling mature disciples we must learn from children (Matthew 18:2-3). He told us the greatest among us must be the servant to us all, to gain your life you must give up your life. If you want to be happy give up everything. What in the world was he thinking??? Anyway, I’ve been learning 43 years; it’s been fun, and I got a lot to learn. Polycarp was killed by the Roman government because he would not worship Caesar and deny Jesus; the old man told the ruler, “eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong”. I’ve got another 43 years before I can catch up to my older brother Polycarp. It has always been good, it has not always been easy & fun, but I could recommend nothing more than surrendering your life to follow Christ. You die to yourself, but you don’t die; you don’t stop having fun, in fact you learn how to really have fun. As Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). You gain lots of friends, friendships richer than most of the world ever knows, friendships with people you would never have befriended were you not imitating Jesus. It’s challenging but it’s a blast. Ferris Bueller said “if you have the means i highly recommend it”; he was talking about a car. I would say, “if you have the guts I highly recommend it”. Happy Birthday to me:) I love you - Jack
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 11:15:35 +0000
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