Winter Quarter Update
Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all!
This quarter at DU we continued our study of the books of Solomon and moved from Proverbs to Ecclesiastes. At face value, these writings appear to contain and advocate for a solemn, almost nihilistic, outlook on life. It’s easy to see why this book is often misunderstood. But after digging a bit deeper, these views are unfounded. Solomon's goal isn’t to leave the reader without a foundation, to break them away from any grounding. His goal is to break down the things that the reader thinks give purpose and meaning to their lives and build them up to something greater, a proper understanding of the meaning of life. The supposed nihilism in the book is most apparent when he cries out right at the beginning “Meaningless, meaningless! All is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). A more literal translation of the word meaningless (sometimes translated vanity) in this passage would be vapor or smoke. One can see smoke fill a room, but if they ever tried to reach out and grab it their hand would go right through. Our wants and desires often remain unfulfilled, always seeming to be outside of our grasp. The things that many fill their lives with are without meaning because at the end “All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return” (3:20).
But remember, this nihilistic attitude isn’t his only goal. He wants the reader to not value life through things themselves, but instead to value all of life, a gift given from God, rightly. Not to place our lives on a pedestal, but to enjoy it for what it is and enjoy the giver of this great gift. The natural question of how one does this is found earlier in Proverbs "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10) and expounded upon later in Ecclesiastes: "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13). God is creator and therefore is greater than all his creation. Because of this we need to first fear, or revere him. And since he is the creator, he has a specific plan or way his creation should operate. Therefore we should try to act in that manner.
Through our study of these two books, we came to the conclusion that this is a difficult task. The countless number of Proverbs remind us how often we fall short of acting wisely, Ecclesiastes reminds us how we make idols and value our life and our ways above God. Thankfully this task is made easier, for Christians, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The task goes from extremely difficult, nay impossible, to doable.
Summing it all up, we believe the Christian mission is two-fold. First, all are called to live in obedience and reverence toward God, to live in the order in which he commands us. This is obviously a difficult task which requires a lot of work, a lot of repentance, allowing God’s grace to work in our lives. Secondly, we are reminded over and over that everything is from dust and to dust it shall return. Our physical existence is temporary, so we must live intentionally, doing what’s right, and following God’s commands. Studying Proverbs and Ecclesiastes this past year has been a joy. It has pushed us all to think differently and live purposefully.
We are hoping to build upon the momentum among our students by incorporating the lessons from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes into our ministry. The following initiatives for winter and spring quarters are designed to help students deepen their reverence for God, live according to His commandments, and share the hope of the Gospel with others, aligning with the wisdom and purpose outlined in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
Our strategy will be three-fold. Starting off over winter break, Cole and I put together a plan to help the guys both grow in their faith and engage with one another over theology. This book club takes the students through some old classics such as Mere Christianity by CS Lewis and Christianity and Liberalism by J Gresham Machen as well as an abridged Bible study through the New Testament. Each week we engage with one another over the readings for the week discussing different parts of each text and how we have come to a deeper understanding of the meaning of the Christian life.
The next two parts of the strategy will be tackled over the winter and spring quarters. Cole and I will be meeting with the guys as a group every other week to talk about practical Christian living, staying faithful to Christ in College and how we can build up one another in the faith. Secondly, we are going to go all in on evangelism. Quite a few students have expressed interest in growing in their skills to engage with their campus and how to share their faith in practical ways. We table on the bridge every week, but are hoping to up that to at least twice a week as well as adding a time where we can do initiative evangelism. We are both very excited for this and hope that it will be both helpful and a blessing to the guys.
Maddie, Lewis, and I have been deeply encouraged this Advent season as we shared the Christmas story with Lewis for the very first time. Reflecting on Christ’s birth has filled us with gratitude for His humility in taking on human flesh and we eagerly anticipate the day when He will reign in power and majesty forevermore. Our prayer is that this season has deepened your love and knowledge of God as you reflect on Christ's first Advent and joyfully await His return.
God bless and happy new year!
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
