John 10:1-10
May 11, 2014
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.
There’s a new acronym being used these days: YOLO. Chances are good that if you are under the age of 30, then you’ve used this. YOLO means, “You only live once.”
In our generation, it was “carpe diem”—seize the day! But for the millennial generation, the motto is YOLO. “You only live once” is less of a motivation for meaningful living and more of a convenient, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, justification for fun, if not reckless living. You might find YOLO in Santa Barbara when spring break happens or on t-shirts of college students getting ready for Friday night partying.
We can think of YOLO as yet another harmless, but annoying acronym that is easy to hate. Soon it will be right up there with TGIF, LOL, and OMG.
But YOLO for today’s generation might be something that goes deeper in what is going on. It may be a cry of a generation that longs for significance that has led to a culture of instant gratification and self-absorption. These shortsighted behaviors might be ways to convince themselves that they are getting the most of life.
Before we judge an entire generation too harshly we must first turn the mirror onto ourselves. We must realize that the rest of us have creative ways of justifying our behavior as we search for deeper meaning too. We might not be tweeting YOLO but remember when we went around saying “Do Your Own Thing” and wishing we were “Easy Rider” or even following the Grateful Dead around the country?
Today, we Boomer Generation instead prefers things like a “bucket list”—a string of activities you’d like to do before you die that you probably don’t have the time, the money, or health to do. Didn’t we just spend last weekend at the Sojourners Retreat talking about what we would do after retirement? We know very well that we only live once so we better make it worthwhile! We might not say, “YOLO,” but it’s still the same.
We think these are the ways that we add meaning or significance to our lives and to make the most of every day. When we are young, we may party all day long and when we are old, we check things off our bucket list.
Jesus the Shepherd
In today’s lesson, Jesus helps us to find a life of significance. He says, “The thief comes only to steal and destroy” but “I have come so that my people may have life and have it abundantly” (v. 10). We might say that the thieves and bandits of life are all of these self-absorbing ventures that we are pursuing thinking that by doing these things, we would have more meaning. Jesus tells us otherwise. He tells us that when we are like sheep that follows the Good Shepherd, we would know his voice and will find green pasture. Contrary to what the thieves and bandits that are in the world ready to pounce on us and take us away from the shepherd, Jesus says that if the sheep remain inside his gate and we listen to his voice, the sheep becomes his own sheep that will have life and have life abundantly.
What is clear is that Jesus affirms our desire for a well-lived life. One of the goals of his ministry is to make sure that we experience a full life as God intended it. This is good news. Jesus also tells us that, although others will come making similar claims, only he—Jesus—can truly deliver.
Whether you’re of the YOLO generation or part of the Bucket List Brigade, you’ll swing and miss if Jesus isn’t the Shepherd in your life. You can bungee jump, visit the Sistine Chapel, or visit all 50 US states and have a fun life. But only Jesus gives you the full life. Therefore, if you are serious about arriving at the end of your life spent, satisfied and fulfilled, then examining what Jesus brings to life, to make it abundant, is worth your time today.
A Life of Significance
There are three things or three driving values that make the most out of the “one” life that we have. The first is a concern for significance. Most every human being, but in particular the current population of young adults, is inspired by the idea of giving their lives to a cause that’s bigger and more noble than themselves.
For example, a new survey of more than 6500 millennials (ages 20-35) found that more than 75% had given money to a non-profit in the last year and that more than 70% had actively encouraged others to do the same. We want to give our lives to something of significance. In Christ, his agenda invites us to become people of significance, most noble and noteworthy cause the world has or will ever know.
What can be of greater importance than connecting those who are estranged from God with the grace, mercy and reconciliation of God? What is more significant than proclaiming the arrival of a new and desperately needed kingdom through God’s word, the Lord’s Supper and acts of mercy and love? What possibly matters more than binding up the hurts of the broken and the hearts of the weary with tangible love and a message of peace from God?
Some of us have been talking about leaving a legacy. You wonder if anyone would remember what you did when you were around. It’s another way of saying how are we living a life of significance. When we do God’s work in the world, you will be living a life of significance.
A Life of Excitement
The second value that drives us in life is excitement. Many of us are afraid that when we lay down our heads to sleep to discover that it was our final night of existence, we realize we have never taken any risk. We want to live having embraced adventure. No one says on his or her deathbed, “You know, I probably should have been more boring.” And so, when we’re young, we drive cross-country with a few friends and when we’re older we dream about climbing El Capitan.
Following Jesus satisfies our sense of, and thirst for, adventure. We have this opportunity to listen to God’s call for our lives and get up, gear up, and get out into the world to make a difference—to make God’s world known in this world.
This doesn’t mean necessarily that we’ll be asked to risk everything for the cause of Christ or do something earthshaking in our service to him. But it does mean we should live ready for sacrifice, inconvenience and commitment. Recently, we have been discussing why it seems like we have a shortage of leaders in the church. Since we haven’t added any new boards and committees and now boast a membership of almost 600 people, we shouldn’t have a leadership problem.
God can and does ask from all of us for 100 percent. And when we give it to God, then things can get pretty exciting here. Every one of us needs to get involved in some way and you’ll see how much excitement will be here. Being a committed disciple of Jesus Christ is not for the faint of heart. I can assure you that serving on the Deacons Board can be pretty exciting!
What if every morning we woke up with an attitude that said, “Whatever Jesus asks of me today the answer is yes. YOLO.” Do that and you’ll never lack for excitement!
Fear of a Disappointing End
The last driving force to live the most of our lives is a fear of being disappointed at the end. We think that in the end, we’ll have missed the point. So we try to cram as much living into life as possible, not realizing that when we’re about to check out, we’re likely to realize that, although we were running, we were running in circles— lots of movement, but no momentum; lots of pursuits, but no purpose.
Jesus Christ offers a YOLO—You only live once culture that is satisfying—an abundant life. The point and purpose of life is not found in any one task, but simply in knowing Jesus Christ. The greatest promise Christ offers is this: that if we’ve found him, if we’ve been forgiven and reconciled to God, then we have—right now—embraced the reason of our personal existence.
No matter what we do or don’t do in the days to come, when we stand face-to-face with God, we will hear the words, “I love you, and well done.” Jesus the Good Shepherd is not asking the sheep to do anything special but to just know him. We were put in this world not to complete a bucket list or to leave a long-lasting legacy but to simply be blessed in the righteousness of Christ.
One Life to Live
But here’s the thing: Knowing this, we now have the freedom to risk greatly, give deeply and to chase the things of God without the fear of failure. We can do this because we’ve already succeeded! The one and only goal of this one life is fulfilled: we are connected to Christ! Now we can love deeply, give generously and go adventurously—not in order to hit the mark, but because we’ve already nailed it. Or rather, the truth is Christ has.
There was a minister who was shopping for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The salesman talked about speed, acceleration, risk and how women love to climb up on the back of such a powerful machine. Then, he discovered his customer was a minister.
Immediately, the salesman changed his approach. He spoke soberly about good mileage, the advantage of 360-degree visibility, and how practical motorcycles are.
When the minister reflected on what just happened to him, he said, “Have we told the world that being a Christian is more like riding a lawnmower than a motorcycle? Is the life of faith more safe and sound or dangerous and exciting? The common image of the church is pure lawnmower—slow, deliberate and plodding. Our task is to take the church out on the open road, give it some gas and see what this baby will do!”
Jesus said he is the gatekeeper. He is ready to open up the gates to let our roaring lives on Harley-Davidsons take off. It’s true that we only live once. YOLO—You only live once. Let’s make the most of this life in Christ who gives us significance, adds excitement and in the end, no fear of a disappointing finale.
Let us do so by remembering that there’s only one who offers a significant life, an abundant life. That person is Jesus Christ.
Let us pray.
O God, we have but one life. We spend our days trying to save it, lengthen it, protect it and hold onto it. The truth is that life—real life—doesn’t come from our human endeavors. We can’t eat, exercise or medicate our way to abundant life. Help us to see that you, Jesus, hold out everything we are longing for. A long life without you is actually a lost life. Give us a longing and a hunger for you and everything that you offer. Our lives are truly yours. Amen.