By Dr. Joe Yelton
Interim Pastor
None of us arrive at a point of understanding or promise without help from other people, lots of others. Though we hear people shine their own medals by saying things like: “I’m a selfmade man” or, “Nobody helped me through the hard times,” the fact is, we all had help, and lots of it. Somebody changed our diapers and spoon-fed us as infants. Dedicated teachers taught us to read and write. Even difficult people in our lives sharpened within us an understanding of what is required to move beyond the hard places in life. Again, none of us arrived at the places we find ourselves today without a lot of help.
That applies inversely as well. The drug-addict got to their pitiable state with the help of others who unscrupulously aided their addiction. A lazy person missed out on being challenged to carry their own weight, etc.
Dr. Sheri Adams, former professor at Gardner-Webb University (and my personal dear friend}, writes, “Two major historical events of the Old Testament shaped Israel’s understanding of God, thus shaped its theology and ethics. One was the exodus; the other was the fall of Jerusalem around 586 B.C. The exodus was more than a liberation from Egyptian slavery, though it certainly included that. Exodus was a call and a response, the formation of a people, the giving of a land in which to live, the giving of commandments to govern a new society.”
One of the most interesting components of the exodus story has to do with Israel struggling in the desert. Food and water were scarce. The threat of Pharoah coming after them was very real. In-fighting among the Israelites was too frequent. It became so heavy that many within the holy nation of God wondered aloud if they should not turn around and head back to the slavery of Egypt.
It sounds impossible that any reasonable person would prefer slavery in Egypt to forging ahead toward what God promised. But wait a minute: are we not much the same right now? God saved us, not only from sin, but from meaningless living yet, too many of us live as though we are on our own ... it’s up to us ... if we make it, it will be because we are self-made and have redeemed our own way. Hogwash!
As believers, we are NEVER in it by ourselves. We are to adjoin the struggler and make the way smoother. We are to find the broken and bind their wounds. We are to celebrate the victories of others even more than we celebrate ours. Our exodus away from who we were before Jesus is to renew in fresh ways a commitment to not only love God, but to love and embrace other people.
In Christ, we confess gladly that we are not self-made. We are God-made, and we desire to live day by day in greater obedience to what is God’s perfect plan for us. I’m not so certain that it ever was God’s plan for any church to measure its success by numbers and budgets. Surely God’s plan for our beautiful First Baptist Church of Sylva is that we offer authentic love and nurture to any we encounter. If we do that, our numbers may grow, or not. But without doubt, we will acknowledge and be acknowledged as being God-made, and what better accolade is there?