Deep down you may still be that same great kid you used to be. But it\u2019s not who you are underneath, it\u2019s what you do that defines you.\u201d Whew, Rachel\u2019s line wrecks me every time I watch \u201cBatman Begins.\u201d It challenges both my mind and my soul to make sense of my role in God\u2019s story. But immediately, I begin to defend myself against this affront to my identity and this exhortation to action: \u201cAm I really defined by what I do for others? Isn\u2019t that salvation by my works? Isn\u2019t that an overfocus on achieving? What about my unassailable identity? What about my rights and freedoms? What about all the stress I\u2019m under? I do what is right. What about me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, I remember that too easily I seek to justify what I am doing in the present and make it about me. I think: \u201cI am the same as I have always been. I am a good person! I have good intentions in all things. They know that! They\u2019ll forgive me for being late to the meeting or class or for not having my work done. And look at the situation. COVID-19! My friends in quarantine! Ugly rifts in the American identity and body politic. People suffering. Restrictions on group activities here on campus. There are plenty of things to bring stress that could excuse my poor effort on this assignment, my attitude towards them or my bending the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh no, he didn\u2019t! I have all the reason in the world to lie about chapel, to shirk that assignment, to be apathetic about class or to not serve that person in love.\u201d Really? Check yourself. I am not going to argue with you and say that these times aren\u2019t hard, but be real. These aren\u2019t the only hard times humans have lived through. These are the times that try your souls, as all times are. So, invite the Lord to try your soul. Let him test you and see if there is any way in you that is good and admirable or warped and in need of reshaping. He is a carpenter, you know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is one suggestion for you and your close circle whom you live with, those whom you are accountable to: Pray by confessing to and exhorting one another. The ancient practice of examen is a way of God helping you remember the day, exhuming the good and ill that you have done, and letting God remind you of what you might have done better. It is a way of walking with the Lord because he has already promised to walk with us. And you can do it together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, though there are restrictions, though you cannot meet in groups larger than 10, though the news is discouraging, though sickness and injustice in the world is malignant \u2014 be strong, take heart, and wait for the Lord. Persevere. Think not of how you may be served or consoled, but of how you may serve and console. Ask not what others can do for you, but what you can do for others. Consider this following scene while dwelling in this present moment in this community. Let words and stories such as these inspire you to act rather than to spectate, to be rather than to seem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wish it need not have happened in my time,\u201d said Frodo. \u201cSo do I,\u201d said Gandalf, \u201cand so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Deep down you may still be that same great kid you used to be. But it\u2019s not who you are underneath, it\u2019s what you do that defines you.\u201d Whew, Rachel\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15068,"featured_media":15231,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[78,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-columns","category-opinions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15068"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15230"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15232,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15230\/revisions\/15232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}