As a Bible teacher and school chaplain, my job description occasionally includes the opportunity of experiencing kids who have decided that they know better than the teacher. Actually, come to think of it, this also happens to me as a parent.
Whether it’s pushing someone down on the soccer field, or talking in class, or running full speed down the hallway into the wrong room in a last minute effort to avoid a diaper change, disobedience seems to be a pretty regular part of childhood. And it’s not just humans who run into this problem. I remember when we were kids, we had a dog named Cummins. He was big, he was furry, he was a mutt. And he loved us kids. But far greater than his love for us, was his love for freedom.
Cummins used to stay in a large fenced off area with a big gate. Whenever you’d go to feed him, water him, walk him, or play with him, he would always look at you and act like he was so excited for your visit! His tail would wag, he would dance around, tongue sticking out, and he would bark excited little barks. But as soon as you even began to open his gate… he would change his entire body into something with properties of a liquid, and he would squeeze, push, and generally evaporate right through and past you. And once he was past you, he would light up the jets and run! Off he’d go… the same direction every time, down our driveway, and up my uncle and aunt’s driveway so he could go visit his friends, Ben the beagle and Goldie the golden retriever.
Yell as you might, he always pretended not to be able to hear you. But he had one tell-tale giveaway: his ears. As he began to run, you would yell “Cummins! Get back here NOW!” And when you said that, his ears, normally pointing forward and fully engaged with whatever was before him, would turn back, just long enough to show that he was listening to… and completely disregarding your requests.
There is no doubt in my mind that Cummins knew the rules… and whether he chose to ignore them, or simply couldn’t help himself, he put those rules to the side. At school, whenever I have to deal with discipline, I’ve found that there too, it is very rare that a kid is genuinely clueless as to why they are having this conversation.
Now at school, I know these kids believe in the rules, because whenever some other kid breaks them, somebody is sure to bring that up with the teacher. But believing and following are two very different things, with two very different results. One can believe in something and never do anything about it, or one can do something and actually find the joy held therein.
One of my grandpa’s greatest dreams was one day to go back to Germany where his ancestors originally came from. He wanted to see the sights, and meet his long lost relatives. He believed it would have been a special trip full of stories and memories to treasure for a lifetime. But sadly, for various different reasons, he never got to go there. And so he believed, but he never got the opportunity to do.
A few years ago however, we did get the chance to take him and my mom on a road trip up to Alaska, fulfilling some different dreams. My grandpa had such a good time, seeing and experiencing things he’d only ever read about. It was a trip I will treasure the rest of my life.
With all these things in mind, I wonder what then is the difference between believing things about Jesus, and actually following and experiencing Him? Are we following Him in our own lives, and in our church community, or are we simply believing things about him? What difference would it make to you? To us? To the world?
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.”
Romans 12:1