Time Flies

We've all heard the expression, "Time flies when you are having fun!"

The older I get, the more I realize that time just flies . . . period.

A few weeks back I celebrated my 35th birthday. I know that a woman is never supposed to reveal her age (and I secretly hope that those who know me have fallen off their chairs in shock at this revelation), but hitting this milestone has had me thinking about time and how fleeting it really is. As a mother of 4, watching my children grow is just another reminder of how quickly life flies by. It feels like my youngest daughter Beaux was just born yesterday, and yet, here she is at almost 7 months old and she is starting to crawl and sit up. How does this happen?

It happens because time is a complex thing.

Time is free,

but it's priceless,

You can't own it,
but you can use it.

You can't keep it,

but you can spend it.

Once you've spent it
you can never get it back.

Life is so short and I don't want to miss a moment! This is true not just in the lives of my kids, but in my life as a believer and follower of Jesus.

The Bible is full of verses about time and how we are expected to use it.

Ephesians 5:15-17 says, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

Ultimately, we don't know what the future holds or how many days we have to walk on this earth. James 4:14 reminds us, "Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes."

But one day is as a thousand years with the Lord! II Peter 3:10-12d says, "The day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God."

We are expected to wait for the coming day of the Lord with great anticipation, and yet, we are to live the days He allows us pursuing holiness and godliness. What does that look like in your life? How can you pursue holiness and godliness in your home? In your job? With your friends?

Time is precious and we know it flies (no matter how old you are), so let us grab hold of each moment and make the best use of the time we are given.

Humble Pie

by Jennie Smith
Secondary Principal

Humble pie is not something most people want to eat.  It usually means we've done someone wrong and face humiliation as we seek restoration.  Humility is a character quality that we like to avoid - it has a negative connotation.  However, humility is a godly characteristic; "Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind" (I Peter 3:8).

Humility is a hard quality to come-by as it is very counter-cultural.  Our culture says to teach our kids to be proud of their accomplishments, to have a high self-esteem. Teaching them to be humble seems to be in direct opposition to building them up.  

However, I've recently learned that humility is a key element in handling times of deep suffering.  A recent article I read states:  "Humility is the way to wisdom..  Humility is the way to contentment in the midst of confusing suffering"  (Welch, 2012).  I Peter 5:6-7 says:  "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."  Even Jesus approached the time of his death with true humility when he says "yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42).  Although we never want to think of our kids encountering a time of significant grief and trial, the facts demonstrate that those times are inevitable.  Our time to teach our kids is so short and we should not overlook the importance of working on this character trait with them.  

Teach Them Who God Is
Micah 6:8  teaches us "to walk humbly with your God."  A reminder that God is God and we are not instills the godly humility that will carry one through many, many trials.  When we think of Job and the tremendous suffering he endured, we call to mind the last few chapters when God finally speaks.  What does he tell Job?  "Through gentle, yet relentless, fatherly questions, he was taught that God is God and our aim in suffering is not to get answers but to submit to his lordship" (Welch, 2012).  If we can have our children grasp who God really is, and give them a proper respect for his sovereignty, hopefully they will bring these things to mind when faced with trials.

Recognize the Power Source
This is one of my favorite definitions of humility:  "Humility is not denying the power you have but admitting

that the power comes through you and not from you" (Smith, 1984).  Our kids have been gifted in unique and special ways.  They may be great athletes, be really astute in math, or be musically talented.  True humility is not a denial of the gifts they've been given, but a recognition that these things are from the Lord.  A little girl I once knew had the most beautiful curls.  Even at the young age of 4 and 5, if you said to her, "I love your hair"  she would respond "God gave it to me."  I always loved her sweet heart - never realizing that her parents were instilling a humble spirit in her.  We are never successful in our own power - it comes directly from the Lord, and He should be the one to receive the praise.

Provide Opportunities for Them to Serve
The very nature of a servant is humility.  As Jesus taught his disciples, he told them over and over again to be servants, and also demonstrated the same in his actions.  "...But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43-45).  Are there places where your children can serve and reach out to others in need?  

Teaching our children to be thankful and helping them learn to ask forgiveness are more ways that they may learn humility.  Let's take the bad taste from humble pie and give our children (and ourselves) the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of walking humbly with our God.


Smith, F. (January 1, 1984).  "Christian Humility."  Leadership Journal, Winter 1984.

Welch, E. (July 18, 2012).  "Suffering, Step One."

We Are Part of Something Bigger

by Dick Buckingham
Administrator

The theme verse we are looking at for the school this year comes from I Peter 2:9:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”  ESV

One of the things we are noting from this verse is that all of the phrases are referring to us not as individuals, but as a collective group.  The words race, priesthood, nation, people indicate something larger than just who we are in Christ as individuals.  It has caused me to ponder about the way God seems to deal with groups of people as a whole.

Adam was an individual, but God established a covenant with him such that what he did, reflected not just upon Adam as an individual, but upon all the people represented by the covenant.  Thus we are all sinners because Adam disobeyed God in the garden.  God dealt with the group we call humans globally in this case.

Abraham also had a relationship with God, but it wasn't just about him as an individual.  God’s arrangement with Abraham included all of his descendants.  They would all be recipients of God’s blessing of a pleasant land.  Much of scripture is the dealings of God with these people as a whole, not as individuals.

David was a man after God’s own heart, but God was looking at his descendants as the ones who would be royalty and would sit upon the throne of Israel and later Judah (and ultimately all mankind) forever.  In this line there were good kings and not so good kings, yet God dealt with them as a group.

Sometimes God deals harshly with a group of people because of the actions of one individual.  In the case of Ahab, wicked king of Israel (not a descendant of David), God sent Elijah to inform him that it would not rain until he said it would.  It did not rain for three years and the drought affected both the wicked in Israel and the 7000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal (I Kings 17, 19).

In the New Testament, we see God’s concern for and dealings with such groups as the elect, the church, the people of God.

Clearly the interest of God is more than in just the individual person.  Don’t get me wrong; God does deal with individuals.  He does love individuals such as you and I and He is concerned about our personal obedience.  But I think too often we tend to focus only on how God looks upon us as individuals and not as a group.  There is something to be said for broadening our vision.

First of all, it causes us to be more humble.  We tend to be a bit myopic at times and view the whole of scriptures as being put there for us.  It is about my personal walk and personal salvation and how I will spend all eternity with God in heaven.  We tend to think of ourselves as the reason why God created everything,  that He chose to send His Son into the world, in order to save us personally.  The truth is, it is not all about us as individuals.  It is ultimately about God and how He has chosen to relate to His creation.

Second, it reminds us that we are not separate; we are part of a group.  That group is important in God’s sight and we need it.  We too often view our participation in that group, the Church, the people of God as secondary or unimportant when compared to our own individual relationship to God.  It is something that is necessary and vital to be actively participating in a local church and God’s way of addressing groups in verses such as the one above reminds us of that.

Third, it makes it clear we are not alone.  Sometimes we get the feeling that we alone are dealing with the struggles of life and there is no one who understands and cares like we do.  Not so.  Elijah fell into that temptation when he implored God to take him home after his encounter with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.  He was certain everyone else had forsaken God.  He was told that there were 7000 that God had reserved for Himself.  (I Kings 19).  Likewise, we are not alone.

Finally, it makes it clearly apparent to us that we are part of something bigger.  We are part of nothing less than a “people for his own possession.”  We are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, a participant in His body.  Everyone likes to be part of a powerful movement.  There is nothing more powerful than the mighty work and people of God.  There is a confidence and encouragement that this gives as we live out our daily lives for Him.

I encourage you in this New Year to observe other places in the scriptures where God is addressing us not so much as individuals but as a whole.   May this grow in you a clearer view of who you are in the sight of God.