This Is Just The Beginning
In Mark, Jesus tells his followers, “This is just the beginning.” In other words, no matter what is going on around you, no matter what changes are taking place, no matter what you come up against, it is not the end, it is part of “what is” and the beginning of what will be for you – so continue on and always be ready. Jesus was laying out for his disciples a lifestyle, the type of life they would experience if they were to remain centered on God’s purpose for them – their sharing of the gospel with everyone.” He was giving them a preview of what their lives would very well become.
Paul on the other hand, in his letter to the Hebrews, was reminding this wavering community of faith not to shy away from a lifestyle of which Christ and everything he taught was the center. He didn’t want them to give in to the pressure to return to their old habits and beliefs when things were starting to go bad. He didn’t want them to become “watered down” Christians. So he told them, hang in there! “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering.” For them too, this was just the beginning.
I remember a time when things were a lot simpler and I was a lot younger – probably about fifty-five years younger. Dismissed for recess, we would hurry out the front door of our one room country school and run to the swings to be first at attempting ‘world record’ jumps; or to a pair of worn wooden teeter totters for a game of ‘alligator pit;’ or to the trapeze bar, hanging from the swing pole, for a ‘death defying’ flight above the audience of ants below looking up in hushed amazement. Those who were brave or foolish, attempted the feat hanging upside down by our knees. I never could hang by my toes like an older brother, who would practice his skill after our nightly chores by hanging from rafter ties in the barn. (Maybe his ‘logger’ boots were the difference.) There were also the regular ‘hanging’ contests on the trapeze bar which included everyone, girls and boys alike – all seeing who could hold on the longest. After jumping up and grabbing the bar with both hands, it was a matter of strength and endurance.
Like Paul said, “Holding fast… without wavering” – was the key, if you were going to win. Always though our weight was too much, our endurance not enough and our strength lacking. Sooner or later, we all let go. Some held on for a very long time, others not so long. But letting go never disqualified anyone from trying again. You didn’t have to be perfect. You didn’t have to hold on until the bell rang and recess was over. You just had to hold on as best you could. And, when it was your turn again, you would just jump up, grab hold of the bar with both hands – and try your very best to hold on, again. There was grace in that game – as a matter of fact, I think Grace won more than once.
God’s grace is also a part of the process of our being made holy. If we truly follow Christ, we grow. We change. We are transformed. We are always in process. Paul wanted his readers to know God is faithful, partnering with us on the journey, helping us to hold on, giving us strength. God promises to be faithful. So, hang in there! This is just the beginning.
In the process of sanctification – of being made holy, we are in partnership with God. Philippians 2 reminds us, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you…” God’s grace includes the Holy Spirit and us in this process of change, growth and transformation. The proper response is to hold on as best you can without wavering. This is just the beginning. “Not one stone will be left here upon another…” so hang on and get ready, “this is but the beginning.” God is patient. God is kind. God is love. And God is with us Paul says, whenever we meet in community.
Nowhere in Scripture is following Christ understood to be an individual effort. Rather, as Paul writes, we are to “provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:24). Following Christ is not something we can do on our own. Jesus originally called twelve disciples, not just one. He sent seventy-two out in pairs, not by themselves. The truth is God’s grace is most evident in our helping one another be faithful followers of Christ. There is grace in community.
It has been suggested our transformation is not an individual partnership with God, but a corporate one between each other and God. Others are to know our spiritual story and journey of transformation. It is important that someone else knows your gifts and knows your faults. Somebody else needs to ask you hard questions and offer you kind words. If not, you will remain unchanged.
Some things don’t really change. Our grandchildren are very much into the Beatles. When John Lennon and Paul McCartney, wrote their last song together, they reminded those of us who not only sang out of key but also would rather find God in their lyrics rather than drugs - “I get by with a little help from my friends.” Friends were important then and friends are important now, especially in our community of faith.
God has given us one other for our grace filled journey together. God’s grace is found in the community we offer each other and the community we receive from one another. It is only in community, we are able to provoke and encourage one another to give our life completely to the sovereignty of Jesus Christ – to live a life of love and good works.
So, how might we do this, encourage one another to love and good works? Peter J. Gomes, a professor at Harvard Divinity School, told the story of when he was a boy, the longest part of the Sunday service was the pastoral prayer. He said, “The sermon was easier to “listen to” because it was just the minister going on and on and on (you could ignore that). But the pastoral prayer was talking to God; (so you) had to pay attention.” These prayers, he said, have given way to prayers of “joys and concerns.” Perhaps it is time for "prayers of encouragement" during which “we cheer our fellow believers to love and good works; or offer ways we can be of assistance to the people in this community of faith we call our own. These prayers of encouragement would then be our response to people’s strengths and opportunities rather than of their weaknesses and needs.
A prayer of encouragement and love, a prayer for affirmation of one another - who would have thought? Perhaps, this is just the beginning.
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