What I enjoyed about our UAS reunion

This past weekend I saw some friends from my teen years that I hadn’t seen in almost forty years—thirty-eight to be exact.  Growing up in Uruguay, I graduated with ten other students but was a part of a high school body of around fifty.  We were from all over the world including Israel, Korea, Brazil and the United States.   Every few years now students from the late 70’s and early 80’s get together for a reunion.  This was my first one so I wanted to share with you three things I truly enjoyed from our time together.

I really enjoyed hearing the life stories and what had happened to people over the last few decades.  My best friend in high school was a man named David and we got to spend a few hours Saturday afternoon catching up thirty-eight years.  Two hours later, after meeting his wife and hearing about his two sons and one grandson born that very day, I had a better picture of what happened after we left Uruguay.  What I still can’t figure out is why we let our friendship slip away all those years ago.

I heard some joy-filled stories of life blessings.  Children who had done well, careers that had flourished.  But I heard some sad ones as well-- one of my friends had lost their spouse in death, early and unexpectedly.  Another had lost a job she had held for thirty years.  So it was a lot to take in, and obviously it was a bit superficial, but what I learned seemed to shrink the years between then and now.

I really enjoyed reminiscing about the past.  It’s hard to believe all the memories that are jarred loose by seeing friends from one’s early years.  Friday night Lauri spent some time reading to us from the UAS high school newspapers.  She even had a sign-up sheet from the school prom and there was my name scribbled in my poor penmanship-- I know that list was every bit of forty years old.

I was reminded of how seniors Geoff, Jay, Tony and Casey would whoop up on us freshmen in basketball.  Geoff seemed to have memories of me being good, which I was glad to hear, but he’s older than me and I think on that one his memory is a bit off.  I tried hard but that’s really different than being good!

We remembered teachers who poured into us, taught us and encouraged us.  Mary, Rosario, Juanita, Joe and Don just to name of few.  “Do you remember…” was a common phrase I heard throughout the evening.

There was one more thing I really enjoyed.  It’s hard to put into words but I truly appreciated the bond I shared with these friends because of the years we spent together in our adopted country.   As an American growing up in a different land, we experienced and received so much.  We’re bilingual and bicultural.  We fit in here and we fit in there.   That experience of life in Latin America bonded our hearts together in a way I don’t know how to explain unless you’ve experienced it.  The truth is we are all so different.  We have different jobs, live in different states, and have different worldviews but there is a bond we share that will never go away and in some way knits our hearts together.   From the moment I first saw Randy on Friday evening until I said good night to everyone on Saturday, I relished in that bond we share.

Thank you Lauri for putting this together and for inviting me.  Maybe in a few years we can do it again.

"I HATE OBAMA," said the Christian!

I am one who considers himself a follower of Jesus.  Many would call me an evangelical because I believe the Bible to be true and what it shares really good news.  But that’s not the point of this article—just the perspective from which I write.

I’m writing about something I see often in the circles I find myself—I’m calling it, “Obama hatred.”   Since I’m talking about Christian circles, you’d think that hatred would not be known among us but I hear it too often in simple comments about our President and I see it in contorted countenances as people describe their vehement hostility toward the man.   It’s not uncommon to hear and read disparaging remarks about his character, motives and intentions from professing Christians.

So I’m writing this primarily for people who claim to follow Jesus.  Let me tell you three things I know about President Obama; three things that I believe he’d absolutely agree with and we need to be reminded of.

President Obama has a different worldview than we Bible-believing Christians.  That’s important to understand.  We believe that truth and perspective come from God’s revelation; I would imagine that he sees truth coming from human reason and societal consensus, but definitely not from the Bible.

What our President has done he’s done because he believes his worldview is right and the best.  In other words, his motives aren’t to destroy America but to make her better from his perspective.  Obviously that doesn’t make him right and that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to stop the moral and cultural shift that’s happening in our land, but we need to recognize that he’s merely leading from the standpoint of his worldview.

President Obama does not stand by himself in his worldview as twice now the America people have voted him into office.  This is important.  He’s our President and he’s our leader, but he’s just one man.  The hatred I’ve seen from some comes because they blame him for the shift that’s happened in our country but he’s merely the leader of a worldview that many Americans now share.

So if you are a follower of Christ, and you find yourself hating President Obama, I want to challenge that hatred and encourage you to change your heart.  Let me give you three reasons why.

The heart of Jesus

Did you know that Jesus loves our President?  He died for him.  God includes him in the  “whosever will may come" words of John chapter three.   Not only does Jesus not hate President Obama, His great love for him led Jesus to die for him—even as Jesus also died for you and me.

The example of Jesus

You’ll look long and hard for an example of Jesus hating Caesar or even the High Priest for that matter.  If our Savior wouldn’t hate the political leaders of His day, what makes us think He wants us to hate our political leaders?  Not to mention that on the very day those political leaders were killing him, he was praying “Father forgive them.”

The words of Jesus

It was to a big crowd that Jesus spoke these words: “You’ve heard it said, ‘Hate your enemies’ but I say to you, love your enemies and do good to those who despise you.”  Wow--love your enemies.  Jesus was clear, so why do we think we have a right to hate our president, even if his worldview and leadership are so different than ours?

Ok, “I see it,” you say.  “Hating our President is not an option for the one who follows Jesus.”  But what should I do?  Do I have to stand idly by and do nothing as I watch our President lead us into a cultural change that I believe is very wrong for America?”   Of course not!  As an American you have every right to participate in the political process and you should.  When God calls us to submit to our government, as part of a democratic republic I have an obligation, even a duty, to participate.  I should speak the truth in love.  I should hold up a better alternative then the one provided by a secular worldview.

But as a Christ follower my greatest allegiance is to Jesus, and He says I should respect those in authority.  More specifically, the Bible tells us to pray for them  (1 Tim. 2).  Instead of hating President Obama and denigrating him with our words, we should uphold him in prayers.  We should pray for his leadership.  Pray for his wife and girls.  Pray and ask God to work through him and in him.  Jesus told us to do good to our enemies, so find ways to bless the President rather than destroy him with your words.  In your heart separate President Obama, the man whom God loves, from the ideology and worldview that guides his leadership.   Labor against his philosophy and policies but ask God to give you an extraordinary love for the man himself.  

Baptism: What are you waiting for?

When I first became a pastor I remember many of the young people who spoke to me about being baptized did so at their parent’s instigation.  I’d be excited until I’d find out that mom or dad told them to “join the church.”   When I’d talk to them they had no clear understanding of what it meant to trust in Christ and even less about the meaning and purpose of baptism.

But today I’ve noticed a different trend; more and more believers, true Christians, are looking at baptism with a “take it or leave it attitude.”  Maybe that’s you.  You’ve understood the gospel; you’ve trusted in Christ and in most areas of your life you seek to follow Jesus but you really don’t understand why baptism is so important.

Let me give you four reasons you should submit to Biblical baptism.

You should be baptized because it’s a picture of the grace that God has given you in Jesus.  

I can’t prove this but I think Paul wrote Romans 6:3-4 after watching a water baptism.  “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  As he watched a person being baptized in the river it pictured for him the believer dying with Christ, being buried with Christ and rising with Christ.  You should be baptized so as to picture for others what God’s love and grace has done for you.

You should be baptized because it’s speaks to your love and commitment to Jesus.

My wedding band doesn’t make me married but it testifies to the reality that I am.  It speaks to a loving and committed relationship with my wife.   It doesn’t make me married but it is a witness to that marriage.   In the same way baptism doesn’t bring you into a relationship with Jesus but it’s a testimony to others that we have one.  You need to witness to your relationship.

You should be baptized because Jesus modeled it.  

Why did Jesus get baptized?  He didn’t need to as a symbol of repentance or cleansing from sin—He was sinless and perfect.  John the Baptist didn’t even want to baptize Jesus.  “You should baptize me!”, he argued with Jesus.  So why; why did Jesus submit to baptism?  It must be that He wanted to model for us the importance of this outward symbol.   If Jesus would see baptism as this important, so should we.   We follow Him. 

Jesus commanded us to.

I hated to pull this card on you, but this really is the only reason we need to submit to baptism—Jesus told us to.  “Go and make disciples of all the ethnic groups, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” Jesus said.  Did you catch that?  Baptize them.   And why this command to be baptized?  It was probably because of the previous three reasons we just mentioned.

So have you trusted Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins?  Are you a follower of Christ?  The I ask you, have you been baptized?  Why not?  It’s time.