By: Casey Korstanje
Imagine life without Jesus. Seriously, try.
I had occasion to chat with some teen boys in December that left a deep and lasting impression. They had come to Central for Christmas dinner – the one organized for the community by Dave and Barb Rogelstad. The amount of work that went in to pulling that off was astounding. Dave and his team not only source and serve dinner, but gathered donations and gifts from Brantford businesses for our guests, did the set up and clean up, handled invitations and co-ordinated with social services folks.
Remarkable.
I’ve talked to Dave about this. The idea behind the enormous effort, is to show Christ’s love, to plant seeds in hearts, to be gentle and giving to people in difficult circumstances. In other words, to shine light into the darkness.
Anyway, back to the teens.
They were friendly and cheerful and open.
I suspect in day-to-day life they would be more guarded. But here they seemed relaxed, and I think that had a great deal to do with the immediate environment.
They were welcomed, there was nothing asked of them. They were cheerfully served a full dinner, and dessert. There was ice cream, candy canes, and the promise of a parting gift. People smiled at them and engaged with them, served them. They had been made aware that the congregation would welcome them again should they want to return some Sunday morning.
Imagine life without Jesus.
As we stood off to one side after dinner and chatted, I became aware that in their day-to-day world casual violence seemed to be the norm. It was just a thing that one suffered or engaged in depending on the circumstances.
I asked about school, where did they attend. One young man, without blinking an eye, told me he was unable to go to school because he was under a restraining order to keep a certain distance from another student. He didn’t take this as a point of pride or embarrassment. It was just what was.
In their world, the phrase “Jesus Christ” is simply an expression of dismay or surprise. It carries no other meaning. Life is defined by the passions of the moment. Restraint, like every other behaviour, is employed only when it serves the self.
Like all human beings, deep down they were, to quote C. S. Lewis, “a bundle of self-centred fears, hopes, greeds, jealousies and self-conceit.” And they live in a world where the spirit of the age, the zeitgeist, roars around them in a vortex of confusion, twisted messages, and self-centred appeals to keep them blind to Truth.
I became profoundly aware talking to them that, but for our Lord, there go I.
Imagine life without Jesus.
There is no peace. No assurance you are loved. No eternal hope. There is no light in the darkness.
I gather from today’s pervasive social media, that “do what you will,” is the mantra of society, and that the highest good is achieving, regardless of cost, an unbroken string of worldly success.
Imagine life without Jesus.
Back in 1952, when his father was dying, the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas wrote: “Do not go gentle into that good night … rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
When I consider his lines I am tempted to despair, to rage against the dying of the light in the world today.
But I would be wrong. It is a false premise. The Light is not dying. In fact, “the light shines in darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.” John 1:5.
Will one of those teens dare to come to church one day. Maybe, maybe not. But I know this, the folks serving dinner and smiling let their light shine before others. And that memory is a seed, it is something God can work with to counter the darkness surrounding them.
Allow me a commercial break as a member of the Missions Committee.
As we approach the Missions Weekend, May 4 and 5, you will encounter a strong focus on local missions. You’ll hear from members of community organizations the committee has researched and connected with.
What they do is help people in the name of Jesus; meet them where they are. That’s what shining a light for Christ looks like, and where trust in God enters our efforts to win souls.
“And I will lead the blind
in a way that they do not know,
in paths that they have not known
I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I do,
and I do not forsake them.”
Isaiah 42:16 (ESV)
So here is the challenge:
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (ESV)
