219th Annual Conference Peoria, Illinois July 2-6, 2005

Home

"Abundant Life" - John 10:10
"Discipleship" - Luke 9:23
"Don't Lose Heart" - Hebrews 12:3-4, 12-13
by Chris Douglas

Chris Douglas Photo taken by Regina Roberts

Part 1
Abundant Life

There is a quote that has haunted me since I first read it over 25 years ago. The Quaker writer, Thomas Kelley, wrote in his book Testament of Devotion, “We have hints that there is a way of life vastly richer and deeper than all this hurried existence, a life of unhurried serenity and peace and power.” I read these words back in seminary and they have stuck with me in a way that few quotes have—I think because something deep inside me yearns and even aches for that way of life. It is the life I think that Jesus was talking about in John 10:10 when he said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

What is this abundant life that Jesus talked about? When I listen to most North Americans talk about abundant life it comes down to consumerism, material comforts, and “buy more stuff!!” Advertisers spend millions of dollars to convince us that we will feel more satisfied, look better, be happier, be more popular if only we buy their product. They try—quite successfully to make us believe that life will be more fun, richer, and more exciting, if only we have the newest gadget, the latest fashions, and the most expensive toys. But the opposite is true. Never before have we had so much material wealth and yet been so dissatisfied.

While advertisers try to convince us to buy more stuff, the culture around us tries to convince us that our worth is in how much we accomplish, how much we “do.” Many of us find ourselves in a frenzy of working more and more hours and unable to take time just to “be.” The frenetic pace of life we live makes us feel like gerbils running on one of those little wheels that keeps going faster and faster. And like the metaphor of a frog in the kettle who gets gradually accustomed to the increasing heat of the water in which he is being boiled, we get so acclimated to crazy schedules that we no longer question the insanity of 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. non-stop schedules. My husband, Scott and I realized that when we took a vacation last month. The first night with no alarm clock, we slept 13 hours, the second night 12, and the third, 11. We had no idea how tired we really were. Is this abundant life? I don’t think so.

We know what advertisers say is “the good life”—but what did Jesus mean when he talked about life in all of its abundance? Jesus turned the values of this world upside down as he began to invite people into a whole new way of living that he called “the Kingdom of God.” Jesus pointed to the paradox by describing a way of living in which we gain our lives by losing them, where the first are last and the last will be first. He asked, “What does it profit to gain the whole world if you lose your soul?”

The abundant life that Jesus invited people to is a way of living that is so deeply centered in Jesus and grounded in God that we live with a joy and a peace which this world cannot give, and neither can it take away. He invited people to come alive in a new way; to find their sense of identity in who they are as children of God, not in how much stuff they have or how important their careers are. He invited people to an abundant life that he described as living water to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. He told her, in John 4:13 “…those who drink of the water that I give them will never be thirsty...”

Many of us yearn and ache for this abundant life. And Jesus invites: “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have give you living water.” (Jn. 4:10) Jesus invites us to this abundant life. We ask you to consider Jesus’ invitation as you watch this video:

(video played)

Wednesday's worship team included Chris Douglas, Cindy Laprade, Beth Rhodes, Nate Polzin, and Matt Guynn. Photo by Regina Roberts

Part 2
Discipleship

True abundance, Jesus said in Luke 9, is found by denying ourselves, taking up our cross daily and following Jesus. His call to radical discipleship turns our rational thinking upside down! Abundance comes not from buying more, but in giving away and in caring for others.

In one of Alan Paton’s novels, a character speaking of heaven says, “When I go up there, the Big Judge will say to me ‘Where are your wounds?’ And if I say, ‘I haven’t any,’ he will say to me, ‘Was there nothing to fight for?’

Where are our wounds? Is there nothing to fight for? How complacent we are about the great needs and suffering in this world! How easily we are lulled into thinking that if we just show up for church on Sundays and “believe” the right things, that we are following Jesus and taking up our cross.

I think of people who have taken up their cross and become radical disciples of Jesus. Remember Mother Theresa who left the posh comfort of teaching at a wealthy girl’s boarding school and moved to the filthy streets of Calcutta to live with and care for the “least of these.” Or I think of Ted Studebaker, from our own denomination during the Viet Nam War, who refused to enter the military and carry a gun, but instead volunteered to go to Viet Nam to help with agriculture projects. For two years he worked with Vietnamese Christian Service until he was killed by Viet Cong in 1971, one week after he had married Ven Pak.

Jesus’ invitation to follow him and take up our own cross means that we find abundant life through giving our lives to continue Jesus’ work and care about the things Jesus cared about. Megan McKenna tells the following parable in her book Parable: The Arrows of God:

“There was a woman who wanted peace in the world and peace in her heart and all sorts of good things, but she was very frustrated. The world seemed to be falling apart. She would read the papers and get depressed. One day she decided to go shopping, and she went into a mall and picked a store at random. She walked in and was surprised to see Jesus behind the counter. She knew it was Jesus, because he looked just like the pictures she’d seen on holy cards and devotional pictures. She looked again and again at him and finally she got up her nerve and asked, “Excuse me, are you Jesus?” “I am.” “Do you work here?” “No, Jesus said, “I own the store.” “Oh, what do you sell in here?” “Oh just about anything!” “Anything?” “Yeah, anything you want. What do you want?” She said, “I don’t know.” “Well,” Jesus said, “feel free, walk up and down the aisles, make a list, see what it is you want, and then come back and we’ll see what we can do for you.”

She did just that, walked up and down the aisles. There was peace on earth, no more war, no hunger or poverty, peace in families, no more drugs, harmony, clean air, careful use of resources. She wrote furiously. By the time she got back to the counter, she had a long list. Jesus took the list, skimmed through it, looked up at her and smiled. “No problem.” And then he bent down behind the counter and picked out all sorts of things, stood up and laid out the packets. She asked, “What are these?” Jesus replied, “Seed packets. This is a catalog store.” She said, “You mean I don’t get the finished product?” “No, this is a place of dreams. You come and see what it looks like, and I give you the seeds. You go home and plant the seeds. You nurture them and help them grow and someone else reaps the benefits.” “Oh,” she said. And she left the store without buying anything.

Part 3
Don’t Lose Heart

Most of us know that the book of Hebrews was written to the early church at a time of persecution and suffering. The writer was trying to give encouragement in the midst of great discouragement and disillusionment. Some Christians were losing heart and giving up. The writer of Hebrews invites them in verse 3 of chapter 12 to “Consider him…” or in the Message paraphrase: “Study how he did it.” The readers of Hebrews are told to look to the example of Jesus to help them, and us, persevere in spite of suffering. He writes, “Consider him who endured such hostility…so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.” And then he throws in: “…you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” I like the way Jim Hardenbrook described the meaning of this verse: “Stop whining!”

The reminder to carefully consider Jesus and study his life and his teachings and to remember his suffering is an important message to you and me today. When we are tempted to give up following Jesus because it simply feels too hard, remembering Jesus gives us hope. It’s like we’ve read the last page of a mystery book. We know how it ends!! When I was in elementary school, I often read Nancy Drew mystery books. I recall one school night long after bedtime when I was particularly engrossed in a suspenseful, hair-raising adventure with Nancy Drew. After a number of warnings, finally, Mom came to my room with a last ultimatum: the light had to be turned out or else! What could I do? No way could I go to sleep without knowing whether my heroine would make it out alive! My solution? Quickly I turned to the last page of the book to see how it ended.

The example of Jesus is like that; it’s like we have read the last page and so, in spite of what we are experiencing at the moment, we know how it will ultimately end. The final victory is God’s. Because of Jesus, everything is transformed. We don’t have to whine!

It is told that in WW II, American soldiers being held in a prisoner of war camp were somehow able to hide a small radio and on occasion secretly listen to news on it. One day they heard on the radio that Germany had just surrendered and the war was over. However, their POW camp was so far out of civilization and the camp communications had broken down, so their German captors had not yet heard the news. It took nearly two days before Allied forces arrived at the camp to set the prisoners free. But during those last two days, the American prisoners faced their shortage of food and mistreatment by the guards in a totally different way than they had earlier. Now they knew what the last page was, and they could live with their difficulties in a radical new hope.

And so the writer of Hebrews tells us, to consider or to remember Jesus. Less than a month ago, I received an e-mail from Jim Hardenbrook while he was in Sudan. He wrote: “Dear Chris, Sitting here in Khartoum I can’t help but think of your sermon for Peoria. The people of South Sudan have taught me a lot about turning suffering into glory.”

Sisters and brothers, while we are not in Southern Sudan, nevertheless, the counsel of Hebrews 12:3-4 is to “consider him, who endured such hostility…”

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, we see that the invitation to life in all of its abundance, is the invitation to discipleship, to take up our cross, knowing that in the words of the hymn we sang on the first night: “the things of this earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”

Annual Conference Daily Coverage Home Page
Annual Conference Home Page | Church of the Brethren Home Page

© 2005 Church of the Brethren
Please e-mail the web administrator with your questions and comments.