No Matter What (No Secret to Success)

By Vince Gilbert

This is a story about a young man and his decisions in life.  

When this young man was a senior in high school, he decided (for reasons not yet told) to quit school.  He remembers the day like it was yesterday – December of 1975.  The decision made, he walked into the principal’s office and announced he was there to quit school.  

He was asked one question, “Does your Dad know?”  Yes.  It was sort of the truth.

The principal handed him a sheet of paper. “Get your teachers to sign it, and bring it back.”  
The principal said matter-of-factly.   

As he did what he was told, he contemplated staying in school.  One teacher after the other simply signed the form and marked with a check that he turned his book in and didn’t owe any money.  

This young man attended a very small school.  There were 17 seniors that year.  Everyone knew everyone very well.  He wondered why the teachers didn’t say anything while they checked the boxes on the form.  He knew he had made the right decision after a few teachers had checked their boxes.  None of them cared.  

He did think, though, that he would like to say goodbye to a particular jr. high teacher – even though he was a senior, she was still his favorite teacher.  He walked into her class and found her leaning up against the windowed wall reading a book.  

“I am quitting school and wanted to tell you goodbye.” He said matter-of-factly.

“Really?”  She responded.

“Yes.”  There was an awkward silence for a short time, and he continued, “Just wanted to say goodbye.”

“OK.  Good luck in whatever you do.” She said simply.  

He walked out of the chilled room, went back to the principal’s office, and gave him the paper.  

He glanced at it and said, “That should do it.”

He remembers how he felt that day, the day it seemed no one cared whether he quit or not.  Not that it would have changed anything if any one of them would have told him that he was making a huge mistake, or if they had asked him why he was quitting school.  He probably wouldn’t have told them, but to be asked might have changed his story.  He remembers how low he felt and how lonely it was walking out of that school for the last time.  He then knew what being a loser felt like.

Over several years, he went from job to job, tried college – quit, married/kid/divorced, more jobs, married/kid/divorced, more jobs, began following Christ in his daily life, married/kid.  Fifteen years passed. All the while the knowledge of being a failure hovered over him like a dark cloud.  He knew he owed it to his family to do better – they deserved more. He prayed all the time for guidance.  

Quietly, he became determined to rectify the bad decisions in his life with the help of Jesus Christ.  He applied to college once again and was accepted under “conditions.”  His dream was to become a teacher.  He wanted to become a teacher and do his best to help young people make better decisions than he made.  He wanted to become a teacher, so when a kid brought him the paper to mark, he could say, “What are you doing?  You are making a huge mistake.  How can I help you stay in school?” and whatever else the kid may need to hear in order to NOT make a huge mistake.  He felt that teaching was his calling.

They had another child, and he decided not to go to college.  In his mind, he couldn’t afford it with four kids.  A year passed.  He couldn’t get it out of his mind that God would pave the way and teaching is what he was meant to do.  He again applied to the college and was accepted under “conditions.”  He was determined to beat this and become a success.  He made a promise to God, his family, and himself to follow through to the end – and not quit NO-MATTER-WHAT!

He went to college.  He worked, went to all of his kids’ functions, and didn’t miss class.  God helped him financially and spiritually through it all.  Then…at the end of his first semester, his wife told him she was pregnant.  Without skipping a beat, he was excited and more

determined to finish school.  

Longer story short, it has been 24 years since he made, and stuck to, the decision that, NO-MATTER-WHAT, he would finish and, with the help of his family and God, become a teacher.  

He was ordained as a Baptist preacher in 1993 and became a teacher of the word, too.  He kept to his promise, made better decisions, and completed what he started.

The most important part of that story is often over-looked. In the part where the failures are listed, it discretely mentions, “began following Christ in his daily life.” A life of prayer began, and with much support from family, friends, and God, he was able to complete the first step of his dream and every step since then.  

NO MATTER WHAT decisions we have made in our past, NO MATTER how we have failed, NO MATTER how far down we believe we are, NO MATTER how hopeless we consider ourselves, a decision to take it all and lay it at the feet of Jesus will rejuvenate our spirit, NO-MATTER-WHAT.  Jesus is the Light in the darkness.  His eye is on the sparrow, so I know he watches me…NO MATTER WHAT! There is NO secret to success - Jesus is the Way.

So, whatever became of the young man?  He has five grown children he loves dearly, a fantastic wife he loves dearly (she stuck by him through all of this), and, with the help of Jesus Christ, is now a superintendent of schools at a small school in Central Texas, hopefully, making a difference.

There is NO secret to success - Jesus is the Way.

Beautifully Hideous

By Stacy Hildebrand

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. Romans 7:18-19 NLT

The Gungor song “Beautiful Things” remains one of my favorite worship songs.  It is unapologetic in its message that God’s hand is in all things beautiful, and that nothing with beauty exists except where He has acted. 

All this pain..
I wonder if I'll ever find my way.
I wonder if my life could really change, at all.
All this earth..
Could all that is lost ever be found?
Could a garden come up from this ground, at all?

I love that.  I’m not a person who looks into the mirror and generally comes away feeling enthralled by what I’ve just seen.  God clearly wants us to trust him to make us a “new creation”.  He wants it to be apparent to us that we are not the architects of our own accomplishments, nor can we insinuate ourselves into what He has planned for us – save where we are invited by Him.

Of course, the problem with this theology is that there will always be those who take from it that we are free to do whatever we want, whenever we want, wherever we want, with whomever we want.  God does the good, so the bad doesn’t matter.  Paul attacks this energetically in Romans chapter 6.  The fact is, anyone who would even say something like that has totally missed God.

But let’s back up for just a moment and explore the true nature of humanity.

I’m something of a cynic.  That’s bad.  I know that it is.  I’m working on it.  But suffice it to say, I don’t have a lot of confidence in the "good" of mankind.  I see so much evil and sorrow around me, some of which I am the author.  It seems like every glimmer of good that comes from man is tainted by a self-serving motive, sometimes expressed, often hidden.  Try as we may, we can’t get US out of the way in our actions.  It is the hideousness of humanity.  Joe does something nice for Jim, not because he’s good for the sake of good, but because he sees some benefit for himself.  Yes, there is always a good-will intent involved as well, but often it can seem very much secondary.  Hideous.  I am my own case study.  I find that even when I long to do something good and kind for someone else that I’m never fully able to divorce myself from my ego or my self-seeking desires.

That’s where I get to read from Romans chapter 8 that our God does not leave us in this sad condition.

Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 8:1-2 HCSB

God takes that which would be hideous on its own and makes something beautiful.  

So what does that make me?  What does that make you?  Well, I wish I could say that knowing what God is doing makes me feel appealing and attractive.  However, I still see all my ugliness.  I still see the unworthiness.  It’s one of the great mysteries of this life that we, as Christ-followers, are called to be beautifully hideous.  We are called to surrender to God for His good and mighty work and at the same time acknowledge our fallen-NESS.  It is part of our witness.  Not to embrace our brokenness, but to admit it is still there and unfortunately has influence over our daily decisions.  However, our eternal destiny is controlled by One who is undeterred by our screw-ups.  Those things are small.  They are but flies that God easily swats away.  

What does your witness say today to those who are watching?  It is undoubtedly a confusing story of faithfulness and apostasy.  Maybe we should all take a moment in the midst of our apologies to the world who would call us hypocrites to explain why we are that way, AND why we are still able to hold our heads up at the end of every painful self-evaluation.

Our God makes beautiful things out of the dust of our own hideousness every day!  He specializes in it.

Father, You are good and I am not.  But I pray that You will not allow this knowledge to become an excuse for not living a life of obedient surrender. I pray that You will draw me into closer union with Your will.  I want to go where You go, and do the things that You have designed.  I want to be beautiful to You and to the world that should increasingly see You instead of me when they glance my direction.  Thank You for working on me.  In my Savior’s name I pray, Amen.