In high school we had one of those "married couples." You know, the guy and the girl who were so attached that it's hard for you to visualize the time when they were actually walking on their own. Danny and Tanya were that way. They were always together. Always together. You couldn't pry them apart with a crowbar. It seemed like when he breathed pepper, she would sneeze. We would put down bets as to how soon after graduation these two 'soulmates' would get married.
Imagine my shock when I found out they split up almost as soon as the summer started. These two had been together for three years at least. It was stunning - Danny and Tanya were, well, supposed to be together. It was the talk among the grads. What happened to those two that they'd split up? They were inseparable!
I think of Steve and Julie who broke up in college and how I was shocked, thinking that these two were made for each other. They'd been together for six or seven months, and after they broke up they were miserable. They realized they were made for each other and they got back together. Today, they're happily married (over 20 years now) and have a pack of kids.
I think of people who have walked away from Jesus. Some people say 'walked away from the faith' but that can mean anything from mindless liturgy to repetitive yoga exercises. I mean people who have approached the awesome protection and love of Christ ... and turned away.
I was reading Adrian Roger's "Love Worth Finding" web site and this startling fact was posted:
Did you know that 85 of America’s first 100 colleges were built for the preaching of the gospel?
Harvard was founded as a Christ-centered school. In 1646 one of it rules stated, “Everyone shall consider the main end of his life and studies to know God and Jesus Christ, which is life eternal.”
Yale was founded in 1701 to train preachers of the gospel. Their president told the 1814 graduating class, “Christ is the only true, the living way of access to God.”
Princeton insisted in its early days that every faculty member be “convinced of the necessity of religious experience for salvation.” Its first president said, “Cursed be all learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ.”
Tragically, these schools and many of our earliest colleges and universities have abandoned their founding principles and more importantly their first love.
Harvard was founded as a Christ-centered school. In 1646 one of it rules stated, “Everyone shall consider the main end of his life and studies to know God and Jesus Christ, which is life eternal.”
Yale was founded in 1701 to train preachers of the gospel. Their president told the 1814 graduating class, “Christ is the only true, the living way of access to God.”
Princeton insisted in its early days that every faculty member be “convinced of the necessity of religious experience for salvation.” Its first president said, “Cursed be all learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ.”
Tragically, these schools and many of our earliest colleges and universities have abandoned their founding principles and more importantly their first love.
The book of Revelation reveals Jesus' deep disappointment with the church at Ephesus. This was a busy church "on the go" but the tragedy is spoken aloud by Jesus: "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love."
We were made for a relationship with Jesus. I don't want to leave that union.
