Tad's Life

I taught a course back in December in a country north of here. It was a week long spiritual exercise really, for a group of pastors and church leaders. The goal was to remember together the basics of our faith, the Gospel. And then to ask ourselves, "Do I really believe this? Does my life reflect a heart filled with this good news?"

It was a wonderfully fulfilling time for me, both because I got to personally focus for a whole week on God's love and my life, and also because I got to be the instrument to help others do that, too.

On the last day we gave a follow-up assignment, since this was a real course that was part of an on-going training program. But with all the travel back and forth from the US with Mom's situation, I lost contact with the course coordinator. It turns out I had papers to grade and didn't know it! This week they caught up with me. Part of me (the lazy part) was dreading having to actually evaluate someone else's writings. The other half was anxious to see what got "caught" when I "threw."

Listen to a translation of the first few paragraphs of one student's response to "How will what I learned this week affect my personal life?"

"This course has literally rescued my world and changed forever my way of living, my behavior, my way of seeing, of dealing with my problems, of serving the Lord, of wrestling with my sin ...

I’ve rediscovered the Gospel.

Without noticing, little by little, I slid from the Gospel of grace and freedom into a legalism of laws, of rules. Oh, human nature (sinful)! "The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse - who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9. How easy and natural it is for a man to fall back into legalism. It’s like we’re by nature legalists. Is it nurture or nature? Personally, I think it’s above all nature. I understand better now how the Galatians were seduced by the Judaizers. With this course I rediscovered how I was (and am) weak and that I must in no case put my confidence in my flesh. I understood the ease with which one can wander from the Gospel of grace. And as a result, lose the internal peace and joy of salvation that one found when one discovered the Gospel and accepted the Lord. The Galatians also had this experience (the loss of joy)." What has happened to your joy?" Galatians 4:15

I learned that I need to preach the Gospel to myself each day. I need to make the Gospel my daily bread. I learned to put more confidence in God. I learned to drink from the inexhaustible spring of God’s grace. I put down the weight of rules and regulations which weighed so heavily on me and which was a ball and chain that impeded my walk with the Lord. And little by little I am finding again the joy and the peace that I had received when I first accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord."

OK. When can I lead another course, Lord?? Shoot, when can I take it again?