Our Foundation and Our Hope: Katy Parker
Are we going to learn the wrong lesson this year? Or worse, what if we don’t learn anything?
The year 2020 has been extraordinarily challenging. As I think back on this year so far, I am remembering the early days of COVID and all that I hoped that we would learn both individually and as a community of believers. I was optimistic, and I thought, “We can endure for a few weeks.” We may have enjoyed more family time or a slower pace to our schedules as we waited for everything to return to “normal.” As weeks turned into months, it was clear that we were not expecting a long-term change to our daily living, and I don’t think that many people were anticipating how this year would reveal the change that needed to take place in their hearts.
We are entering the fall season and I wonder - are we going to miss the opportunity to learn and grow in Christlikeness? Are we going to walk into 2021 the same or, perhaps, even deeper in our sinful patterns and thinking? I would like to address three key areas that must be addressed for us to grow in sanctification today.
Our Foundation and Our Hope
COVID-19 has rocked us to our very foundations this year. This may be the most significant lesson that we are missing this year. As I am listening to other believers and looking into my own heart, it is abundantly clear that we have been placing our hope in all the wrong things. This year has exposed every one of those hopes as woefully inadequate. We have been placing our hopes and building our lives on weak and temporary foundations.
A good foundation should keep the house standing while the forces of nature do their worst. No matter how damaging the chaos is outside the house; the people in the house are safe. A bad foundation may have been weak from the beginning. However, some foundations are strong initially, but they weren’t built in a way to keep moisture in the ground from weakening its strength.
This is what Jesus talks about in Matthew 7:24-27. He said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
No amount of hope in the quality of our healthcare could keep one of the most medically advanced nations from the devastation of a pandemic. We found that we can’t place our hope in our jobs, our economy, our government, or any other earthly institution. They have all proved to be unsteady and unpredictable. This year put a spotlight on every flaw and crack in our pitiful foundations. We have been putting our hopes and our identity in every worldly “stronghold,” but there is only one immovable foundation. There is only one stronghold that is unchanging.
The God, who created the very foundation of the earth, is the one in whom we can place our hope. Now that our weak foundations are revealed, we have an opportunity to rebuild on the Solid Rock. You may have failed to address the foundation before, but you have a new opportunity today.
Psalm 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”
Personal and Family Discipleship
One of the major impacts of this year has been the church community. Initially, most churches needed to shut down the services in person for a period of time. Many churches have returned to some form of worship service in person, but for many churches other ministries are still on hold. Much like the foundation of our hope, this significant disruption in our lives has shed light on the cracks in our foundation of discipleship.
For many Christians in America, we have come to rely upon the church to be our source of growth and spiritual health. We are sustained week to week by the preaching and the teaching provided by the church. Even though this year has brought additional uncertainties and concerns, the bigger problem is that many Christians do not know how to learn and grow in the Word of God on their own. In addition to that, many parents have relied upon the church to disciple their kids and are left without an understanding of how to practice family discipleship.
In the American church, we have created Christians who are more like house plants with limited growth potential than trees thriving in nature. You see, a house plant is dependent on the occupant of the house to provide water every week to sustain it. If that person is out of town, sick, or even forgetful, the plant is in danger of withering away. Its livelihood is completely tied to a human caretaker to sustain it week to week.
In comparison, when we see trees growing in nature, the tree is not dependent on the human occupant for growth and sustenance. The prophet Jeremiah gives us great imagery of this when he writes, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8). The tree is receiving its life-giving sustenance directly from the source of all life. The tree does not have to wait for a meager portion of water once a week from a caretaker, but it draws as much water as it needs at all times. A plant was never designed to flourish confined to a small pot indoors. God created plants to thrive, multiply, and produce fruit, and God created His Church to do the same.
Much like these plants, our growth is stunted when we rely upon our weekly church services and ministries to sustain us. We were always meant to be sustained from the source of all life, God himself. When our “roots” are reaching out to Him, we don’t have to fear when church services look different or when family worship changes. We continue to thrive and maintain our spiritual health because we have access to the wellspring of life. We have learned how to grow and learn from the Word of God.
The church and the pastors are essential for our spiritual growth. God designed us for community, and he placed pastors in a unique role to care for the church. The role of the church leaders and pastors is more like a farmer than a house plant owner. They work the soil removing rocks and barriers. They plant the seed of truth. And they care for the health of the plants in pruning, working against enemies that seek to destroy, and treating spiritual illness.
Now that we can see that we have neglected our personal and family discipleship, we have to ask ourselves, “Are we going to continue to live like house plants, or are we going to be planted by the streams of living water?”
Love of Neighbor
The last major lesson that I believe we are missing is loving our neighbors. This year has been one of the most tumultuous years that I can remember. Fear and frustration fill the air as neighbor is pitted against neighbor. Sadly, the Church has entered into the fray. Best practices for managing the pandemic, racial injustice, and politics have become polarizing issues. Men and women who bear the name of Christ should be the ones to lead by example by exuding the love of God and love of neighbor. Sadly, believers are missing the opportunity to be Christ’s ambassadors.
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” James 1:19
Read that passage again. This is the polar opposite of everything that you find in our world today. Many people who are hurting right now, but we are painfully slow to listen. When we see the outward display of inward suffering, many believers respond quickly with an answer to try to minimize the suffering at best. At worst, the answer is an attempt to deny that the suffering is real. Is this what God does? When the Psalmist cries out to God in frustration, does God rebuke him? No. God listens and hears His prayers.
When we see people arguing over masks, distancing, and closures, are we listening? Do we hear the hurt and fear in the uncertainty they are experiencing? When we see protests and outrage over racial injustice, are we listening? Do we hear the very real experiences of discrimination and hatred against image-bearers of God? When we engage in political conversations, are we listening? Do we hear the concerns on every side about the current and future leaders of our country and how it will impact our lives? Believer, be quick to listen. Hear your brothers and sisters as they cry out. Seek to learn and enter into their pain as Christ did for us. Christ left heaven to enter into our suffering.
James then teaches us to be slow to speak. To bring this command into today’s context, be slow to type, comment, or post on social media. James gives us strong warnings about the damages that we can inflict with our words.
“But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so” (James 3:8-10).
The words that we use have a powerful impact on the people we talk to and the people we talk about. Earlier in this chapter, James likens our words to wildfire. This should be a vivid image for everyone as we think about how one careless act propelled catastrophic damage and death across an entire state. Much like that, careless, demeaning comments inflict damage on those who are made in the likeness of God. Be slow to speak so the words that we do speak give life and point others to the heart of God.
We seem to have lost sight of what God has commanded us to do: Love God and Love Our Neighbor. This is so important that Jesus sums up the entire Law in these two commands. The love of God and the good news of the Gospel should dominate how we listen, how we respond, and how we love others.
And so, believer, have you learned how to love your neighbor better this year? Have you been the tangible display of God’s grace, love, and compassion?
As you read this, I don’t want you to lose hope. Perhaps, you have not learned these lessons this year...BUT the year is not over. We always have hope that God is able to work and move. Before this year is over, pray, repent, and start to learn how to grow in these areas so that the year 2020 will be a year of growing in Christlikeness as God has called us to do in every season.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Katy Parker is originally from New Mexico. She came to Southeastern in 2009 to complete her MDiv in Biblical Counseling. While she was in seminary, she met and married Jesse, who is now a PhD student and the Director of Student Resources and Financial Aid. Katy graduated in 2014 and is currently serving the seminary as the Student Life Counseling Coordinator. They have two adorable kids, Lottie (4 years) and Logan (2 years). The Parkers are members at Vision Church in Raleigh where Jesse serves as an elder. Katy loves Christmas, green chile, and random moments of craftiness.