Is it possible to waste Cornell?

Of course it is. We all have plans to not waste it.

Make some friends. Go to awesome parties. Learn a lot. Get good grades. Get a summer internship. Join a frat. Get into med school. Get a job.

What if you’re wrong? What if that’s not what Cornell - and life - is really about? I mean, those are good things, but are they ultimate things?

The Bible gives an answer about how to not waste Cornell, or your life:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. - 1 Corinthians 10:31

You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. - 1 Corinthians 6:17

We exist to glorify God. We exist to do everything we do (eating, drinking, studying, hanging out, etc.) in such a way that Jesus is treasured above everything else. Who is Jesus?

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. - Colossians 1:15-20

Jesus is God. Jesus is supremely powerful, supremely valuable, supremely wise, supremely good. Jesus is God become man to take the punishment for our sin, so that we wouldn’t have to. Jesus reconciled us to God, so that we might have peace with him, living with him eternally.

If you are not a Christian - not reconciled to God - what you need to do, before you can glorify God with any other action, is trust Jesus to save you and satisfy you. Romans 10:9 says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Why? Everyone has sinned against God by breaking his law and treasuring things other than God. God must punish sin, and the Bible tells us that the punishment is eternal torment in hell. But God became man as Jesus, who was punished for the sin of all who would believe in him, so that we wouldn’t need to be punished.

If you are a Christian, you are called to do the same thing - trust Jesus to save you and satisfy you. Stop trying to earn your salvation and trust that Jesus has already saved you. Stop trying to satisfy yourself with lesser pleasures and seek your satisfaction in the greatest Pleasure. Let Matthew 13:44-46 give you a taste of just how valuable Jesus is (hint: the kingdom is where the King is).

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

This transforms EVERYTHING. All the gifts that God has given us become merely tools and means to experience the Giver.

We eat giving thanks to a good God who has given us food to eat and enjoy… knowing that as good as the food is, Jesus is better, and Jesus can eternally satisfy.

We study hard using the minds God has gifted us with, knowing that ultimately, what we need is not good grades or a good job, but Jesus. When we do well, we know that our hope is not in our own skills and abilities, but in Jesus. When we do poorly, we rest assured that it is Jesus that saves and satisfies us, not good grades.

These are all good things (eating, studying, etc.) to be done in God-honoring ways, but they are not all there is to be done.

In his book, Don’t Waste Your Life, John Piper says the following:

The greatest cause in the world is joyfully rescuing people from hell, meeting their earthly needs, making them glad in God, and doing it with a kind, serious pleasure that makes Christ look like the Treasure he is.

We were made to worship God, and help others worship God. To display to others the supreme value of Jesus, so that others would praise him.

First Peter 3:15 tells us to “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” It should be so clear to people that your hope is different from their hope that they ask you about it!. Has this ever happened to you?

What shocks the world is when they see you living in such a way that makes it clear to them that Jesus is your hope - your treasure.

What shocks Cornell is when they see that Jesus is your treasure, not your grades.

When they see that Jesus is your treasure, not your resume.

When they see that Jesus is your treasure, not your TV.

When they see that Jesus is your treasure, not food or drink or sex or drugs or jobs or parties or friends or family or future.

Are you showing Cornell that Jesus is worth treasuring? If not, you’re wasting it.

A common, often fatal myth about Jesus is perpetrated in Western culture: he’s a marginalized, Galilean hippie-peasant in a prom dress who rocks out to the Spice Girls while drinking decaf.

Myth #2: you can beat Jesus up.

We printed up a bunch of copies of this quartercard last year.  We can’t give them out anymore, because the back has some wrong information about our meeting location, but here’s the front:

Setting The Record Straight

1. Marginalized? Not at all. Back in his day, he was tremendously popular and influential… that’s what got him killed! He was doing miracles, attracting followers, taking on “The Man” (the Jewish religious-ruling establishment called the Pharisees). People either loved him or hated him… no in between. They wanted to make him king by force, and then they wanted to kill him. What they didn’t want to do was ignore him.
2. Hippie? Jesus loved and taught peace, but he wasn’t afraid of confrontation. He took on the Pharisees of his day in sharp, verbal combat, leaving them confounded every time. He entered the Jewish Temple and tore the place up, turning over tables and businesses. Jesus loved the environment - the Bible tells us that he created it for himself. But he loved people more - they were the point of his coming. They had this problem - sin - that was keeping them from heaven and sending them to burn forever in hell. Jesus came to fix that by dying the death we should have died so we can live a life giving glory to God - not subterfuge.
3. Prom Dress? Makeup? Spice Girls? Decaf? Jesus was the manliest man that ever lived. His first miracle? Making wine… good wine. His last miracle on earth? Flying. In between? Healing people, raising people from the dead, ordering demons around. Oh yeah, he died too… and then was resurrected. And about that death… Roman crucifixion is the most brutal form of execution that exists. The Romans wouldn’t even do it to their own citizens - that’s how bad it was. Jesus not only willingly died but went through all that torture silently - without complaining.
4. And you think you can beat him up? “Nobody takes my life from me. I lay it down of my own accord.” Jesus was beat up and crucified only because he allowed it. You really think you can take on God? That you can beat up the one who conquered death? This guy rose from the grave. Good luck with that.

So What?

Jesus was a real guy. Can’t argue with that. A Jewish historian named Josephus even wrote about him. He existed, he taught, he died. While he was teaching he amassed a rather large crowd of followers. Followers that freaked out and hid when Jesus was killed. So why would they decide to start a religion? Put yourself in their place - your leader (who you thought was going to become King) was just killed and his ideas black-listed. You’ve lost all hope, because everything is contingent on him being alive.

Look at what happens next: Christianity is formed, and starts growing, even under threat of death (by stoning and crucifixion - both quite painful and torturous). The effect (Christianity growing) is clear and undisputable. What was the cause? What gets a bunch of frightened, discouraged Jews to stop hiding, regain confidence, and start telling the world about Jesus? The only possible answer - Jesus did what he said he would do and rose from the dead. Jesus is real, Jesus is alive, Jesus is powerful.

A good question to be asking right now: why did Jesus have to die? Why did he give his life up willingly? What’s the point?

Answer: sin.

We live in a culture of moral relativism that says that there is no such thing as sin and that we get to define what “good” is by our preferences. But that doesn’t make any sense… rape is always wrong, right? Mugging and beating up old ladies is always wrong, right? So somewhere these “absolutes” must be defined.

You’ve heard the “Golden Rule”, right? “He who has the gold makes the rules.” Or, “he who is the most powerful gets to define what sin is.” By definition, that “most powerful being” is God. And in reality, all God really wants is for you to see him as “most powerful” and see him as “the best” (because he is), and so “sin” is really simply “treasuring anything else above God.”

Some examples:

1. Stealing. Pretty obvious - you treasure that thing that’s not yours more than you treasure God, so you decide to take it.
2. Cheating. Also pretty obvious - you treasure that good grade more than you treasure God.
3. Lying. You treasure your reputation more than you treasure God.
4. Sex (outside of marriage). You treasure that girl (or boy) more than you treasure God.

And for those of you who think you’re perfect… Pride. You treasure yourself more than you treasure God.

Everybody’s sinful. Which means that everyone has impugned God’s glory. A just judge must punish sin, and God is just, so he must punish us.  And so we all deserve death.  Well, worse than that - we all deserve Hell, which is a real place, it’s very HOT, and it’s where you’re tormented consciously for eternity (sorry, no annihilation).

Hell is the just response to our sin - it’s what a good judge should do - but God has mercifully provided a way out… he came down to earth in human form as Jesus (fully God and fully man at the same time), lived a perfect life, and then died.  He died the death we deserve, meaning that God punished Jesus for our sin, so that we wouldn’t be punished.  He lived the perfect life that we could never live, which means that when God looks at us, he doesn’t see our sin but sees Jesus’ perfection, and counts that as ours.

But here’s the catch - we’re not all saved automatically, and once we are, we don’t just get to keep on sinning.  Jesus died for all who would trust in him.  What’s required from us is simple: repent of your sin (hate it, and stop doing it) and start treasuring and trusting God (start doing the opposite of sinning). Trust God by treasuring him. This is what we were created for - treasuring God above all things.  Believe him when he says that he is far more satisfying that stealing, cheating, lying, or sex. Or drugs or alcohol or TV or World of Warcraft or Nintendo Wii or getting good grades or finding a good spouse or living comfortably and retiring early… and seek after him with all your heart.

We’d love to tell you more about this guy named Jesus that took on God’s wrath so you don’t have to and wants you to trust and treasure him because he really is worth treasuring. Shoot me an email at benhutton@gmail.com or come check out Real Life - Friday at 7:30pm in RPCC Auditorium - where we talk about what all this means.

-Ben

Jesus is the true and better lemon bar,
Who ate the sour grapes of the Father’s wrath
So that only sweet mercy remains for you.

Jesus is the true and better brownie,
Who needs no ice cream on the side
To be your greatest delight at the heavenly banquet.

Jesus is the true and better white chocolate macadamia nut cookie,
Who was cracked and crushed and rose again
To clothe us in white.

Jesus is the true and better peanut butter cookie,
Satisfying every obedient heart, regardless of allergies.

Jesus is the true and better caramel chocolate chip coconut cookie,
Who bore the furnace of affliction on our behalf,
Took our spots upon his spotless self,
And hung on a tree so that we might have spiritual milk to drink.

Jesus is the true and better dessert,
The Bread of life, the Spring of Living Water,
Who sustains you in the desert place
And becomes for you the sweetest eternal gift.

Jesus is your true and best love,
Who will never leave you nor forsake you,
Who is for you and desires to do you good
With all His heart and with all His soul.

It is His goodness, His love, His grace,
His beauty, His mercy, His justice, His peace
We long to taste and see and pursue along with you.

It’s with His love we wish you a happy belated Valentine’s Day,
-Your brothers in Christ

A common, often fatal myth about Jesus is perpetrated in Western culture: he’s a marginalized, Galilean hippie-peasant in a prom dress who rocks out to the Spice Girls while drinking decaf.

Myth #2: you can beat Jesus up.

You may have seen our quartercard:

Setting The Record Straight

1. Marginalized? Not at all. Back in his day, he was tremendously popular and influential… that’s what got him killed! He was doing miracles, attracting followers, taking on “The Man” (the Jewish religious-ruling establishment called the Pharisees). People either loved him or hated him… no in between. They wanted to make him king by force, and then they wanted to kill him. What they didn’t want to do was ignore him.
2. Hippie? Jesus loved and taught peace, but he wasn’t afraid of confrontation. He took on the Pharisees of his day in sharp, verbal combat, leaving them confounded every time. He entered the Jewish Temple and tore the place up, turning over tables and businesses. Jesus loved the environment - the Bible tells us that he created it for himself. But he loved people more - they were the point of his coming. They had this problem - sin - that was keeping them from heaven and sending them to burn forever in hell. Jesus came to fix that by dying the death we should have died so we can live a life giving glory to God - not subterfuge.
3. Prom Dress? Makeup? Spice Girls? Decaf? Jesus was the manliest man that ever lived. His first miracle? Making wine… good wine. His last miracle on earth? Flying. In between? Healing people, raising people from the dead, ordering demons around. Oh yeah, he died too… then resurrected himself. And about that death… Roman crucifixion is the most brutal form of execution that exists. The Romans wouldn’t even do it to their own citizens - that’s how bad it was. Jesus not only willingly died but went through all that torture silently - without complaining.
4. And you think you can beat him up? “Nobody takes my life from me. I lay it down of my own accord.” Jesus was beat up and crucified only because he allowed it. You really think you can take on God? That you can beat up the one who conquered death? This guy rose from the grave. Good luck with that.

So What?

Jesus was a real guy. Can’t argue with that. A Jewish historian named Josephus even wrote about him. He existed, he taught, he died. While he was teaching he amassed a rather large crowd of followers. Followers that freaked out and hid when Jesus was killed. So why would they decide to start a religion? Put yourself in their place - your leader (who you thought was going to become King) was just killed and his ideas black-listed. You’ve lost all hope, because everything is contingent on him being alive.

Look at what happens next: Christianity is formed, and starts growing, even under threat of death (by stoning and crucifixion - both quite painful and torturous). The effect (Christianity growing) is clear and undisputable. What was the cause? What gets a bunch of frightened, discouraged Jews to stop hiding, regain confidence, and start telling the world about Jesus? The only possible answer - Jesus did what he said he would do and rose from the dead. Jesus is real, Jesus is alive, Jesus is powerful.

A good question to be asking right now: why did Jesus have to die? If he gave his life up willingly, why do that? What’s the point?

Answer: sin.

We live in a culture of moral relativism that says that there is no such thing as sin and that we get to define what “good” is by our preferences. But that doesn’t make any sense… rape is always wrong, right? Mugging and beating up old ladies is always wrong, right? So somewhere these “absolutes” must be defined.

You’ve heard the “Golden Rule”, right? “He who has the gold makes the rules.” Or, “he who is the most powerful gets to define what sin is.” By definition, that “most powerful being” is God. And in reality, all God really wants is for you to see him as “most powerful” and see him as “the best” (because he is), and so “sin” is really simply “treasuring anything else above God.”

Some examples:

1. Stealing. Pretty obvious - you treasure that thing that’s not yours more than you treasure God, so you decide to take it.
2. Cheating. Also pretty obvious - you treasure that good grade more than you treasure God.
3. Lying. You treasure your reputation more than you treasure God.
4. Sex (outside of marriage). You treasure that girl (or boy) more than you treasure God.

And for those of you who think you’re perfect… Pride. You treasure yourself more than you treasure God.

Everybody’s sinful. Which means that everyone has impugned God’s glory. And so we all deserve death. Well, worse than that - we all deserve Hell, which is a real place, it’s very HOT, and it’s where you’re tormented consciously for eternity (sorry, no annihilation).

But God has provided a way out… he came down to earth in human form (fully God and fully man at the same time), lived a perfect life, and then died. But because he was perfect (always treasuring God (himself) above all other things), he didn’t deserve death. Instead, he died the death we deserve, so that we don’t have to.

But here’s the catch - we’re not all saved automatically, and once we are, we don’t just get to keep on sinning. Jesus died for sin - he BEAT sin. He BEAT death. So the action required is simple: repent of your sin (hate it, and stop doing it) and start treasuring and trusting God (start doing the opposite of sinning). Trust God by treasuring him. Believe him when he says that he is far more satisfying that stealing, cheating, lying, or sex. Or drugs or alcohol or TV or World of Warcraft or Nintendo Wii or getting good grades or finding a good spouse or living comfortably and retiring early.

We’d love to tell you more about this guy named Jesus that took on God’s wrath so you don’t have to and wants you to trust and treasure him because he really is worth treasuring. Shoot me an email at benhutton@gmail.com or come check out Real Life - Fridays at 7:30pm in Olin Hall 155 - where we talk about what all this means. This Friday - October 12th - is “Friday Night Live” - a special event where Campus Crusade will be getting together with a handful of other fellowships to learn about who Jesus is and what that means for us. If you’re not a Christian, that’s fine! This evening is designed with you in mind and should make sense even if you have no church background or prior knowledge of Christianity. It will, like Real Life, be in Olin Hall 155 at 7:30pm. Check out the Facebook event here.

-Ben