A message for the youth completing confirmation
By Theodore Thompson
1960
[Message to youth about to be confirmed. Lead with chin set stakes deep, pitch your tent on a Hill, not Valley. Remember basics: pray, devotions, church, communion, league]
There is one thing that you do not do when you are boxing; you do not lead with your chin! If you do, you will have happened what happened to Floyd Patterson. You will get knocked out. In boxing it doesn't pay to lead with your chin.
But there are other areas of life that it is best to, so to speak, lead with your chin. Many of you boys are, or have been, Boy Scouts. Many of you girls have been or are Girl Scouts. Now, if you are out camping, where is the best place to pitch a tent? The best place is right down in a valley right? No, of course not! The best place to pitch a tent is where you will have a good drainage and ventilation. Either on the side of the slope or the top of the hill. If you put your tent on or at a Valley or Ravine, you may get flooded out.
Now, as Christians, Christ wants us to pitch our spiritual lives where they can be seen. As Christians, Christ wants us to lead with our spiritual chins. This is the type of living Christ has called to us. Christ wants us to be healthy, strong, robust Christians. Christ wants us to be tough soldiers for his cause. St. Paul compares the Christian life to the life of a soldier as he says to Timothy: "take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus."
Christ does not want us to be pale, sickly pale anemic Christians. He wants us to be out in the air Christians, full of life and vitality. He wants us to pitch our tents out on the open where all can see.
Here in our text for today we read, "you are the salt of the earth, but salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored. It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven."
You see you are the light of the world. You are to be set on a hill were all can see you. You are to be glass windows that people can look into and see your God.
You ever seen some bugs that have very long feelers to tell them where to go? Sometimes these feelers are twice as long as the body. If you place such a bug on the floor, sometimes it will sit for hours, afraid to move. Jesus once told a story of three men. One man has entrusted with money, and he doubled it. The second was given a moderate amount and he also doubled his money. And a third was so afraid to act that he buried his money, and his master condemned him. If your feelers are overdeveloped; you are so afraid to ask that you do nothing, you will be rendered useless. In Christ work, if you want to amount to anything, you have to act. You are to be strong, courageous, forward acting Christians, yet to be set on a hill and you have to use your talents.
In your lives many times you will be tempted to pitch your life down in the valley. Many times, you will be tempted to be long with the gang and not give your Christian witness. Even now, many of you find that it's tough to be a Christian at school. Many of you have told me that you are often tempted to swear and go along with the crowd on the school playground. When you people get older, and start dating, you will be tempted to date people who may not be Christians. When you get to be 20,21,22,23 many of you will be thinking about marriage and again you may be tempted to marry someone who is not a Christian. Temptations come every day and in every way.
And if you yield, if you give in and do not stand your ground as a Christian, you will be salt that has lost his saltiness. And what did Christ say that salt that loses his taste is? He said it is good for nothing except to be thrown out and trodden under feet by men. You see, we as Christians are to improve society. The salt that Jesus is talking about was taken from the dead sea area. It was mixed in with other stuff that looked like salt, and if it rained hard, the salt got washed out and all that was left was the worthless residue. If we do not stand up for Christ, we are just worthless residue.
There is one thing that is going to haunt you all of your life and that is sin. A sin might not look like much at first. One drink may not seem like much, but then one leads to another and another until there is a wrecked life. Swearing once or twice may not seem like much but then you may swear again and again until you drift away from Christ completely. Missing church on a Sunday or two may not seem like much, but then you miss again and again until finally you may have fallen away from Christ completely.
A rock is strong and hard. People admire stray hard rocks. But little seeds are not impressed by rocks. They fall in the cracks of rocks and then begin to sprout and grow into huge trees that split mighty rocks. Trees are big and powerful they look out over the landscape proud and erect but then little vines are not impressed by trees. They begin to grow long and lean, wrapping themselves around trees and finally trees can die because of little vines. And men they can come and root out trees and vines and rock and all with mighty bulldozers. And then men can build big houses and be very prosperous. But then a little seed can destroy men also. This little seed is sin, and it is out to destroy the spiritual life of men.
The valley may look peaceful to you. You may not want to lead with your spiritual chin. You may decide you want to lead the easy comfortable life of the valley where you go along with the crowd. Where you seldom attend church, and where you seldom give time or energy to the church. But then beware, when you start living in the valley, when you start putting your light under the bushel, it may go out.
But if you decide to let your light shine, if you decide you want to pitch your spiritual tent on the hill where it won't get washed out by the floods, that hit the valley, you had better put your stakes in deep because if you let your light shine, if you stick out your chin, strong winds may come along and almost carry you away. Jesus here in the 10th verse says we may be persecuted if we follow him, but he calls this a blessing: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Yes, if you want to follow Christ, if you want to let your light shine, put your stakes deep.
Billy wanted to be pole vaulter. He dreamed of soaring high. Even at three years of age Billy dreamed of being a great pole vaulter, and he made fun of his little brother two years old who was stumbling when he walked. That walking was “baby stuff” thought Billy; Billy was going to be a Pole Vaulter he said but he hadn't even learned to walk.
Uncle John was going to be a great saint. He dreamed of being a great saint like St. Francis of Assis or Schweitzer, but at a 40 he couldn't even discipline himself to daily devotions. He left his brother Jeff who was 30 and did routine church things like teach Sunday school. He was no great saint.
You see, it's the common little things that we have to start out with in order to amount to anything. Billy wouldn't never make a pole vaulter if he didn't learn to walk. an Uncle John would never be a saint until he had discipline and order in his life.
This is the same with your spiritual life. You will never amount to anything for Christ if you don't get the fundamentals down. Your tent will blow away if you don't get the stakes in deep.
There are a few basic fundamentals which you will find will help you much. First of all, you have to be fed and watered. If you don't give plants water and food, they die, and so do we die if we don't get spiritual food and drink. Prayer is one of these fundamentals. Each day should come to God in prayer asking for forgiveness and strength. Devotions is another thing you will need to. Each day you should read a chapter of the Bible or page or two in some other devotional book such as what Jesus means to me. You remember from confirmation that churches where the word of God is rightly preached and the sacraments are rightly administered because where the word of God is preached people will be convicted of sin and they will turn to God, and where the sacraments and word are, Christians will receive food to grow. It is the same with your spiritual life. Private devotions will strengthen your spiritual life. And then church attendance. I don't have to tell you about this you know about this. You know the third commandment. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." And you know that one way you keep the Sabbath holy is by church attendance every Sunday. I have told you people many times that in practically every class inside of a year, close to half the drop out of regular church attendance. I hope that will happen to none of you.
In you parents, I hope that none of you will tell me or the next intern or the next pastor "oh Johnny be confirmed now he doesn't have to go to Sunday school or church." We need these things all in our life! On Sunday night I hope all of you people will be able to go to league for there is another fundamental which will give you Christian’s fellowship and recreation. Parents, if your children aren't associating with church youth, they may be associating with others you may not be too happy with. Finally, there is another very basic fundamental. You will partake of it for the first time tonight, the Lord's supper.
"To receive the Lord's supper worthily, I must prayerfully examine myself to see if I really repent of all my sins, believe in Jesus and desire to serve him by a holy life, and as Luther says "he is truly worthy and well prepared who believes these words: given and shed for you the remission of sins." We do not understand it perfectly, but somehow, Christ is present in the sacrament within his body and blood, and he gives to us forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.
Get your stakes in deep, get down the fundamentals and stick to them. Prayer, daily devotions, regular Sunday worship, Sunday school, and attendance and other church functions such as league or Guild brotherhood, and Bible studies when you are older. And above all regular partaking of the Lord's supper. In football the spectacular and runs and shifty running are what catch our attention, but none of this is possible without the fundamentals of good blocking and tackling, good practice sessions and exact knowledge of plays. Get down the spiritual fundamentals and you will be able to make yardage for Christ. Then you will begin to be able to lead others to Christ. Set your stakes in deep you are the light of the world you are the city set on a hill.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
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