By: Ayden Thatcher
As a follow-up and an opportunity to unite the campus in community after Freshman LIFE, Western had its first Fall Spiritual Emphasis Week from September 26 through 30. The week's theme was "Fixated: Seeing the Greatness of God."
Derek Mackie, the Bible Department Chair, Chapel Coordinator, and Bible 11 teacher on campus, opened the week by encouraging us to question our thinking about God because it is "the most important thing."
On Tuesday, Pastor Robert Elliot, from the Reformed Baptist Church of Riverside, said that we try to redefine who God is instead of recognizing His sovereignty. Elliot said, "Man seeks power and kills those who threaten it, but God sees His enemies and invites them to come to Him."
Wednesday, Mackie returned to stage and brought us all to Isaiah 6 to ask us to recognize that "God is holy; He wants His people to be set apart," and see that "we've done God a disservice; we've brought Him down to our level." Our desire to communicate the Good News will never be fully realized until we know God is holy.
On Thursday, Pastor Elliot spoke about grace out of 2 Corinthians 8. He pointed out that we are created to know the Law; God made us to desire justice, but sin has taught us to defend our own sins. Grace is not something God has to give, in fact, He spares us from what we judiciously deserve.
Mackie closed the week by reminding us that that God is greater than anything we can imagine. We can test our vision of God and His holiness by asking "Is my vision of God large enough to include the worst sinner being pardoned?" If we can't "allow" that in our thinking of God, then our vision is far too small.
Fall Spiritual Emphasis Week caused us to question our individual views of God, as well as the chapel format itself. Everyday, teachers had to wake up entire rows of students. Although students questioned whether chapel could be changed to help keep them awake, the real point is that a room full of high school students struggled to stay awake when someone taught about the Holiness of an immeasurable God. Perhaps the real issue goes deeper than chairs that are too comfortable, and the placement of chapel in the day; Mackie and Elliot are right: we've lost sight of who God is when discussion of his grandeur is not enough to keep us alert.
