Make no mistake, work is nec essary. This is the way by which we can exercise things we have learned. One of the important dis- tinctives here at Biola is the fact that every student has a specific Christian service assignment or really "opportunity" where he can put into practice the valued les sons gained in the classroom. These ministries range all the way from church work, young peoples' ser vices, street meetings, hospital teams, you name it. There is just about as many opportunities avail able as there are interests of the students. Work is an important thing. Sir William H. Ogleby, the leading British neuro-surgeon, has said that the chief cause of heart disease is simply a lack of exercise. That is true in our spiritual lives as well. The old writer, Phillip Brooks, has urged, "Don't pray for tasks equal to your power, but rather power equal to your tasks." The difficulty is that too often we attempt to work for God to the limit of our incompetency, rather than to the limit of God's omnipotency. Now the word "ashamed," as we find it here in II Timothy 2:15, appears nowhere else in the New Testament. It means that we will not have any embarrassment for faulty workmanship. We will not have to blush in a coming day. In our work for God we are not go ing to have to be embarrassed nor will we need to blush if we main tain the proper stewardship of our time and energies for Him. I like one translation of Jeremiah48:10. It pointedly states, "Cursed be he who doeth the work of God negli gently." God's service cannot be carried out in such a manner. If you Page 31
like the ghost who had an inferior ity complex: he seemed to suffer from "haunting doubts." If you are not quite sure where you stand exactly, you can know. This is the reason why here at Biola every student, regardless of what major he may take, must also have 30 units of Bible and doctrine in order to graduate. Now, that is the equivalent to another major. You say, "How does he do it?" Well, it generally takes him anoth er year to achieve the goal, but it is worth it. Yet, here are hundreds of young people, realizing the cost of taking another year out of their lives, who are diligently providing themselves with a firm foundation based wholly upon the Word of Cod. The next thing we are told is that we are to be "workmen who need not to be ashamed." Have you ever done anything of which you were extremely proud? People saw the achievement and they were gracious with their praise. On the other hand, have you ever done anything of which you were ashamed. You wished that no one could see what had transpired. As spiritual workmen, the only way we can make sure that we are not going to be ashamed in this life, or in the life to come, is that our whole energies are directed toward the diligent study of God's Word. So often we try to do things in our own strength rather than in the power and might provided by God's Holy Spirit. Frankly, there is nothing more obnoxious than someone who is proud of his abil ities, unwilling to give due credit to God. How about it, are you "a workman who needs not to be ashamed"?
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