Author Archives: mhick255

The Yoke of Jesus

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But not the one you think.  From Os Guiness’ The Call:

In the second century, Christian apologist Justin Martyr grew up over the hill from Galilee. Interestingly, he notes that the plows made by Joseph and Jesus were still being used widely in his day. How intriguing to think of Jesus’ plow rather than his cross — to wonder what it was that made his plows and yokes last and stand out.

Isn’t this an amazing thought – owning and using a plow made by Jesus? Justin Martyr was born early in the second century (Wikipedia says AD 100, the intro to his writings in the AnteNicene Fathers says AD 110).  The plows of Jesus and Joseph, then, were still in use nearly a century after they were made.

Today, I was staining a cabinet.  I wasn’t very good at it.  Though I often think that I like woodworking, whenever I try some project, I remember that I’m not very good at it. Jesus was good at being a carpenter. He was good at his job – superior, in fact. And I bet he enjoyed it, too.

Will our work survive a century? Can we be as dedicated to our daily calling as Jesus was at his?

Full Time!

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January 1 marked my first day as a fulltime employee of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.  It has been nearly two years since I first read about the Emerging Scholars Network on intervarsity.org and emailed Stan Wallace to get involved.

It has been a true blessing to meet so many people who are excited about the vision of ESN.  I could not have gotten to this point without partners who support ESN through their prayers and financial and personal investments.  Thank you!

In other news, last night I began teaching “World Religions” at Lakeside Christian Church.  We’ll be meeting each week through the end of February.

A Christmas Conundrum

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My wife and I are in the middle of moving to a new house (yes, at Christmastime – perfect!).  During this process, several people have handed me things (boxes, televisions, etc.), and warned, “Be careful – it’s very, very heavy!” But, when I take the item, I find that it’s not that heavy at all.

So, either, a) I’m much stronger than your average person.  Or…

b) I look really puny.

Dependency

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A while back, a friend invited me to join him in a business opportunity to, in his words, “become financially independent.” He had seen me developing financial partners for my work with InterVarsity, relying on the generosity of others for my family’s wellbeing. I think that, in his mind, asking other people for money was a risky and insecure way of making a living.

He’s right.

My work with the Emerging Scholars Network depends on other people sharing ESN’s vision for our nation’s colleges and universities.  It requires me to trust that God will lead me to the right people, and that my (often frustrating) work in contacting people, setting appointments, and making “asks” will be rewarded.  There is no certainty, except the ever-present certainty of God’s promises.

In contrast, many other jobs seem secure.  They have a steady income stream, a proven business model, contractual or governmental guarantees, well-funded pensions…

It’s all an illusion.  Independence is an illusion.  All of us are dependent on God, for both our daily needs and our eternal ones.  An economic downturn, a tragic accident, a sudden scandal – sometimes, just plain bad luck – can demolish our dreams, and our dreams of financial independence will be gone like vapor.

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.  (James 4:13-17)

Meditation on Campus

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Inside Higher Ed ran a story today entitled “Meditative Spaces,” about efforts at various colleges and universities to create space for meditation and contemplative prayer. The schools in the article represent a broad range of heritages – private secular, Buddhist, Baptist, Catholic, even a college based on Transcendental Meditation. On one level, I think this can be a promising development, as students, faculty, and administrators recognize the spiritual component to life and attempt to honor our human need for transcendence. The article quotes a recent study from UCLA, which found that most college students were looking for spiritual meaning in their lives:

Indeed, it seems the majority of college students consider themselves to be spiritual in some way. A 2005 study by University of California at Los Angeles researchers found that 80 percent of freshmen have an interest in spirituality – but while they expect guidance from their colleges on spiritual matters, those expectations often aren’t met. In an earlier pilot study of college juniors, the researchers found that nearly two-thirds said their professors don’t encourage discussion of spiritual or religious matters.

The meditation spaces described are as diverse as the schools: prayer rooms, small chapels, outdoor labyrinths. However, the article fails to mention the most important element of meditation. Who or what is the object of meditation?

Psalm 119 is perhaps the central Biblical text regarding meditation. The psalm is organized into 22 sections, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each line of each section begins with the same letter. Acrostic poems, like Psalm 119, were a Hebrew device for capturing the entirety of God, as if to say that the theme at hand is being covered “from A to Z.” In this case, the theme is God’s word itself.

The second section, Bet, vv. 8 – 16, has always spoken strongly to me:

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Praise be to you, O LORD;
teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.

The impulse of the colleges above is correct. Human beings are designed to seek transcendence, and meditation is a natural part of how we are wired (some more than others). I pray, however, that students and faculty across our country will discover the proper object for meditation. May the Christians among them be salt and light, so that they will see true spirituality, focused on Christ and God’s revelation.