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Student Ministry

Posted on September 5, 2006 ...

?¢‚Ǩ?ìIs there not a cause??¢‚Ǩ¬ù If you look up the definition of the word ?¢‚Ǩ?ìcause?¢‚Ǩ¬ù you will find that a couple of the meanings are ?¢‚Ǩ?ìthe reason or motive from some human action?¢‚Ǩ¬ù or ?¢‚Ǩ?ìgood or sufficient reason.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù So, a better translation of that question might be, ?¢‚Ǩ?ìIs there not a good or sufficient reason for action??¢‚Ǩ¬ù One of my favorite stories in the Bible is of David and Goliath. If this is one of your favorite stories also, then you might already recognize the question that comes from verse 29 in the 17th chapter of I Samuel. David had just arrived on the scene and he could see that the Israelite army was in some trouble. David heard Goliath taunting the Israelites and he begins to ask, ?¢‚Ǩ?ìWhat?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s in it for the guy who defeats this Philistine, and besides that who does he think he is taunting - the army of God-Alive!??¢‚Ǩ¬ù
One of David?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s brothers hears him ask these questions and it sends him into a slight rage, "What are you doing here? Why aren't you minding your own business, tending that scrawny flock of sheep? I know what you're up to. You've come down here to see the sights, hoping for a ringside seat at a bloody battle!" To which David responds, ?¢‚Ǩ?ìWhat?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s up with you? All I did was ask a question. IS THERE NOT A CAUSE??¢‚Ǩ¬ù The rest of the story is awesome; the Philistine giant is defeated. The Lord delivers David and the Israelite army from Goliath and the Philistines.
That?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s a pretty amazing story and a relevant question even today. Is there a cause? Is there a reason why we?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re here? Yes. For me this is a question I ask myself everyday. In David?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s case, the reason was because this army and this giant were taunting the Army of God, His chosen people, the Israelites. In my case, as a minister to students, the reason is because I see Satan trying to destroy lives and families. I see and talk with students every day who are hurting. They come from broken families - many in which mom and/or dad could care less what?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s going on in their life. Many of them struggle with addictions. Many have been abused either physically, mentally, or even both. Some struggle with the thought of not fitting in or being different from the rest. And all of them deal with these issues in different and, many times, very destructive ways. So once again, the question is posed, ?¢‚Ǩ?ìIs there not a good or sufficient reason for action??¢‚Ǩ¬ù I think we can all agree that the answer to that question is an overwhelming ?¢‚Ǩ?ìABSOLUTELY!?¢‚Ǩ¬ù
You see, before David threw the first stone the battle was already won, but David still had to throw the stone to defeat the enemy. Our battle has also already been won because Jesus defeated Satan and death, but that doesn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t mean we don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t have to fight. I love the words to a popular worship song. They go like this: ?¢‚Ǩ?ìCause we?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve already won and you don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t have a chance/Yeah we?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve already won and, no, you don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t have a chance/Yeah it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s already done and you don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t have a chance/Because we?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve already won/We have already won!?¢‚Ǩ¬ù Let?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s commit to never forget that there is a cause. As Christians we?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve already won, but we have to let others know that the same victory we have in Jesus Christ is also available to them. Much love, Nathan