Surviving Chaos

I’m starting to rethink the idea of a “Christian College Experience”. Don’t get me wrong, I have appreciated getting my formal training at a Christian institution. But mine came at a higher price. Unlike those who joined me in crossing the stage to accept their diplomas, I really had to work at achieving my degree; literally. I held a full time job during my sophomore year as well as a part time job. The during my junior and senior years, I held at least two part time jobs while finishing my degree. Add to that the responsibility of being a husband and a first time father while raising my GPA above 3.0 and you can see why I have lost my short term memory. I literally lost my mind as I finished my degree.

Now I’m not bashing my fellow alumni. I am in no way saying that I am better than them because of the situation surrounding my drive to graduate. They worked hard to accomplish their degrees and I give them credit for accomplishing the task in four years. College was not made for everyone.

Then what is my point? Simply that I had an advantage over my fellow alumni. I was almost 25 years old when I re-entered college at Oklahoma Wesleyan University. I had been married for almost four years at that time. And I had experienced “real” life and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God had called me into full time ministry as a Pastor. I knew what I wanted and was driven to accomplish it; an education founded on the moral truths found in the bible and God.

What brings this thought to mind? The other day I was talking to a fellow OWU grad and he was telling me that a mutual friend had contacted him through “Myspace.com”. He gave me the address and I started my search, locating friends whom I hadn’t spoken to in over a year. What I found startled me. These young adults who were attending or graduated from a “Christian College Experience” seemed no different from other people I had meet in the secular world. I was dumbfounded and even a little ashamed that people who confessed to be “born again” Christians were so easily swayed by the winds of the world. People who praised God with complete surrender in the bubble we called OWU, now curse the name of God. To an outsider, one would wonder if God had actually had an impact on the heart of these individuals.

So what happened to cause such rebellion? Why would people see the truth, celebrate in it, and then return to the darkness? My only thought has to do with the idea that they were not mature. They were willing to accept the grace and love of God but not willing to give complete surrender. They wanted forgiveness but desired to be the “master of their domain”.

God has called each human on earth from Adam to the next child born to be “Holy as He is Holy, Perfect as He is Perfect”. The road to perfection starts with accepting what God’s love accomplished; the brutal death of his only son Jesus, the Resurrection of Jesus, and the eternal life Jesus brings for each of us through forgiveness of our sins. But the road doesn’t end with acceptance. It needs to become part of us, constantly changing us to be the people God had intended at creation. In the Holiness movement we call that “Sanctification”. I go a step farther and call it “Complete Surrender”. It is only when we admit that God is in full control of our lives, that everything we do is to bring glory and honor to him that we can truly begin to live in freedom. We allow God to be GOD. “We are nothing without Him” becomes more than lip service; it becomes an attitude and behavior we grasp daily, minute by minute. My prayer is that someday my fellow fallen alumni come to the same realization I have and “Completely Surrender“.