QUO VADIS?

Not too long ago I watched an old flick (circa 1951, starring Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, and Peter Ustinov) of that title, based on a book of the same title (written by Henryk Sienkiewicz in 1896).  I wondered what the phrase meant, so, being a certified geek-ette, I Googled it. 

“Quo Vadis?” is a Latin phrase that means, “Where are you going?” or “Whither goest thou?”  In John 13:36 Peter asked Jesus:  “Lord, where are you going?”  Jesus replied:  “Where I am going you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”  Read through verse 38 and you will find Peter swearing he will lay down his life for Jesus and Jesus telling Peter that he will deny him three times.  It was a lesson Peter never forgot.  Later in Rome, Peter does lay down his life for Christ and is crucified upside down.  All because he followed a man named Jesus.

Paul, a Roman citizen, was beaten several times, had stones thrown at him, was bitten by a viper, and eventually beheaded because he refused to stop preaching the Gospel to whoever would listen.  He never stopped being kind and gracious to those around him, even his captors.  He tried to bring the Sanhedrin, soldiers, market-place sellers, prostitutes, all manner of depravity, and even King Agrippa to Jesus.  How is it that I think I should do anything less?

Christians in the days after Jesus was crucified had to hold services in tombs and caves and other hidden places to avoid being put to death for their beliefs.  They had their businesses taken from them, their families killed, had little if any food to eat, were harassed on every side, and yet they clung to faith in Jesus and went forward, through many storms and trials, giving up the riches the world had to offer.  They were fed to lions and burned alive at the stake.  Cancer?  It’s nothing.  God is everything.

So, the question is:  Quo vadis?  And are you willing to go?  God will never ask you to go somewhere or do something for which he has not already prepared you.  Be aware that it often takes a while for God to get you ready.  Sometimes you have to go through some stuff before you are ready to face the next challenge. It’s taken God nearly 60 years to get me to pay attention. God never promised the road would be easy, he only ever promised to be with you all the way to the end – even if you’re crucified upside down or had your head severed from your body by an executioner’s axe.

Had you asked me ten years ago, I would have sworn that cancer was not something I would ever face.  No one else in my family ever had – we died of old age or heart attacks but not cancer.  “So,” God says, “You believe I am the way and the truth and the light.  How far are you willing to go in proving that belief?”  Truth be told, I wasn’t really ready to go very far.  If people knew I was a Christian they’d expect me to, well, act like one.  They’d make fun of me for being a Christian instead of gorging myself on a secular world full of lustful and damaging things.  Surely it was enough just to be a “good person” and not have to sacrifice anything on the altar of my beliefs. No, I didn’t want to go there!

Big mistake!  Big lesson!  God never does anything halfway.  Cancer teaches you a lot of things but the biggest thing it teaches you is how utterly dependent you are on God’s mercy and grace.  It’s a lesson you never forget.  I’ve stopped apologizing for my faith.  I’ve learned to give credit where credit is due – to God and God alone.  I’ve stopped being afraid of professing my faith because I don’t want to be made fun of – go ahead, laugh, belittle me and my beliefs – in the end God wins, and because I am his child, I win too.

In the times the film depicts and the book tells of, Nero was emperor of Rome – and he was stark raving mad.  He burns Rome and blames the Christians.  He writes very bad poetry and turns them into even more awful songs.  He kills people who get in his way or who are of no use to him any longer.  He feeds the Christians to the lions and burns them on crosses. Most Romans don’t think they are doing anything wrong – after all, Nero decreed it so. Yet, for all Nero’s machinations, for all that he tries to destroy the Gospel, it survives far beyond his little empire.  “Quo vadis?” you ask of the Gospel?  “Into all the world,” it replies. 

I’ve stopped expecting people to fill my needs and started expecting God to do what he has promised.  I don’t have to guess whether my church is going to explode with people who need Christ because I know God will do it.  Pretty soon it’s going to take me two hours to count the offering instead of five minutes.  Pretty soon we’re going to need a bigger nursery and more room for the youth and lots more help with children’s ministries.  We’ll have to hold classes every evening for discipleship and clear more space out for community missions.  The past is over and done with – now is the time of the Lord!

It’s not only the preacher’s job to go out and minister to others – it’s yours too!  True, you can sit in your pew and watch the world go by, but wouldn’t you rather be a vital part of the church body that gives Jesus to the community around it?  For me it was a question of whether I’d rather be dead or alive.  I could avoid God and blame the church for my inability to accomplish much, sit around feeling sorry for myself and being bitter about the hand God had given me, or I could throw all that aside and plunge headfirst into the work of the Kingdom.  You probably think I’ve lost my mind, and so I have – to God, the author and finisher of my faith.  His Kingdom is all that matters.  Cancer is of little consequence.

So again I ask you, “Quo Vadis?”  Where are you going and what will you be?  Who will you follow and who will you lead?