I believe there is one day that stands out as the scariest day of my life: the first day of high school. The first day separates the men from the boys; and on that day, we are all boys.
I entered my first day of high school as a quiet loner and kept telling myself that my new school was simply a larger, more over-crowded version of my previous experience (except for the giants that roamed the halls in search of terrified freshman to eat). I was determined to survive my first day, so I came prepared. I had a list of all my classes, with the teacher and the room number. My first class: 9th Grade Social Studies.
I checked the room number and then proceeded to fight through the sea of bodies. Pure determination brought me to the other end of the school, and I emerged from the crowd in front of my classroom with time to spare! I confidently marched in and sat down, breathing a sigh of relief. The teacher entered, greeted us, and began to read off the role call. He got to the B section, but I didn’t hear my name. He continued on to the C and D sections. Maybe I was a late edition to the class so I’ve been moved to the bottom of the list? Panic started to build as he finished the list having still not called my name. “Did I miss anyone?” He asked, but I was too shy to answer. “Ok, welcome to 11th GRADE MATH!” My heart skipped a beat. Slowly my hand raised into the air. “Um sir, I think I’m in the wrong class, unless you are secretly Mrs. Franzen and ‘Math’ is code-word for ‘Social Studies…’” As I was led to my real classroom, I discovered that I had not only gone to the wrong room but was on the wrong floor entirely!
The world is moving quickly in the wrong direction. There are all kinds of ideas, religions and philosophies out there, and it has resulted in a lost world that doesn’t even know it’s lost. But, there can only be one Truth. In Matthew 18:11 Jesus said, “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.” On our own, we are wandering through life like lost sheep. We may think we know where we are going, but we are headed for disaster. I desperately needed someone to show me the way before I ended up in the wrong classroom. The good news is this: Jesus came as a shepherd to lead us in the right direction. He came to show us the way to abundant life, both here on earth and for all eternity. One of the greatest hymns of all time says this: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.” I pray that more people in this world can echo these words every day.
Mike Blackaby is 25 years old and is the college and young adult pastor at First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, GA. Mike loves to play music, loves to snowboard, play hockey, and cheers for the Colorado Avalanche. He is terrified of spiders, but loves reading fantasy novels, watching movies, taking road trips, building camp fires, and will do any roller coaster if someone goes with him. You can contact him via Facebook.