All Grown Up

I distinctly remember that, when I left home and had arrived in my new freshman dorm, I was all too happy to be there. Not that I didn’t love my home or parents, but being the youngest in my family, I always felt like I needed to be as grown up as my older brothers. It was the greatest. I was in a dorm with a bunch of new freshman. I had already made new friends in addition to some old ones. And my classes were not half bad (well except for one professor...). One of my classes even taught me how to breathe (how much is tuition?…)! It seemed like it would be the best four years of my life.
But then I had to keep growing up. I’ll give you an example. Did you know that professors really hated it if you came in late more than once (*cough* in a week *cough*)? Or that late work isn’t a real thing (what is email?…)? These are things that I learned very quickly that semester and then somehow forgot every night when I slept. I had to grow up and quickly.
Growing up is the realization that life just isn’t flexible anymore. For example, as a baby it is perfectly acceptable to poop in your pants whenever you wanted to or as needed. As a toddler you’re required at least to make an effort (with a possible candy bribe) to make it to the big boy potty half the time. If you’re an adult and poop in your pants, people stare and you get kicked off of buses or planes. It’s because you have a responsibility as an adult to not poop in your pants! Now I know that’s a really crappy example (...I’m sorry…) but growing up is realizing that you can’t do what you want anymore. Rather an adult needs to be working towards something more than themselves. For a lot of people it’s a career, for some it’s a family, but imagine what the world would look like if we all thought what God wants us to do. If it was a God-driven career or a God-driven family.
The reason I’m talking about this and bringing up this whole topic (I promise I didn’t just want to make poop jokes) is because it’s this time of year where we realize how much time has passed. It’s this spring time, where we begin to say, “I can’t believe they’re graduating in a month” or “I can’t believe it’s our last youth night” or “I can’t believe the school year is already over.” For the Apostles, after the Resurrection, it is quite honestly a poop-your-pants time. Jesus rose from the dead, and he’s still with us and having breakfast with us. It is so awesome! “Jesus Christ, undefeated champ, there is no stopping him!” This is exactly what the Apostles were thinking for those 40 days that Christ was present on Earth. Nothing could go wrong; life is easy. When he ascends, it’s quite a different story. We find the Apostles locked and hidden in the same room they were in when Jesus was dead. They’re scared because constantly while he was alive and risen, he told them, “Take my words and live them.” They all hide in the upper room, because they are afraid of growing up; afraid of taking that step and that responsibility. It was easy when Jesus was right there and saying the words himself, but having to do it all on our own was scary.
When we think about the past year in ministry, no matter what ministry you assist or lead, you can normally think of the great times and the really difficult times (Lord knows I’ve had plenty of both). But that’s the trick the devil plays. He makes us believe that those times are not repeatable. That if we only do something a bit differently, it will be all better. Ministry and growing up and learning with a constant new group of students is difficult and it never will cease to be as long as the devil is in hell. It’s that grace from the Holy Spirit; it’s that drive and need to breathe in the truth of Christ that pulls us out of that upper room. It’s that desire to serve the body of Christ that clings us to him. Jesus told us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light, but he never asked us not to pick it up.

cash advance in riverside