The Individual Nature Of The Invitation

Last night, I decided I was going to talk about basketball, but this morning I woke up to Madonna and Justin Timberlake's refrain of "4 minutes to save the world" on the radio. It certainly isn't my favorite song, but I thought it raised an interesting question: What would I say if I had four minutes to save the world? This has to be a much better topic than basketball.

As I got to thinking about it, my first thought was this was a tough question. Four minutes just isn't enough. I concluded that if I had four minutes I would probably waste it away worrying about what to say.

Then as I was walking into my office, I got to thinking about the academic world I have lived in for the last few years. All I could think about was Paul in Athens in Acts 17:16-37: so many ideas, so many "devout" or "religious" people worshiping idols "unknown (and false) gods," young un-calloused people searching for something but having very little understanding. So I decided I would probably use my four minutes to read them Paul's words from Acts 17:22-31.

Then I was reading some commentary that reminded me of Friedrich Hayek. One of Hayek's main ideas is that we have to be careful when we use aggregate words like "economy" or "world." The economy and world is really complex system of individuals. No President can fix the economy. The fixes will always help some individuals and hurt some individuals and leave most individuals the same. A national unemployment rate is not as meaningful to me compared to whether my family and neighbors and myself are employed. His idea is that some times individuals use "we," or "us," or "them," and or "they" to avoid the consequences of our own action or inaction. Talking about "the economy" makes us forget that the important and only thing is for us as individuals to go to work and do the very best we can each day. Doing the best I can is the most important thing I can do for the "economy" or the "world."

That is when I realized I was missing the point of the invitation. In a mixed-up sort of way I was committing the same error Adam and Eve did in the garden in Genesis 2:12-14 when they blamed others for their own sin. The invitation is not about "4 minutes to save the world" or a modern university or ancient Athens. It is about our personal, our individual relationship and commitment to God through Jesus Christ. It is about you and me as individuals taking a moment to ask "How am I doing." As Christians we have to thank God for the blessings he has given us and ask for forgiveness for our individual sins. This is a time for us as individuals to recommit ourselves to walk "upright" with the Lord. If you are not a Christian, you are in the right place. You have taken the step towards hearing God's Word. If you are prepared for the commitment that baptism begins, you have the opportunity tonight. If you have any need before the Church, you are invited to come forward as we sing.