If I had to leave Bryan and do something important with my life, what would be the last words I would want my peers to remember from me?
Should I spend my last words talking about chapel skips, some funky dinners, a list of the funniest pranks, all of my least favorite rules, or is there something else that matters above all?
At Bryan, we are sinners. Just like every church I’ve attended, every camp I’ve seen, and like every other Christian I’ve met, we are sinners. Each year, I learn more and more how many sinners there are in the body of Christ.
Bryan hasn’t been any different. Our relationships still fail. We still lie to each other and our professors. We don’t trust the school not to lie, mislead or stay silent on important issues. We lust. We hurt ourselves. We hurt each other. We drink. Above all, we let our righteousness stand in the way of God’s.
We know that we are sinners; I don’t feel the need to reemphasize this point. What matters is that since you know I am a sinner, we may as well stop hiding it. I know that you are a sinner, so we may as well accept the humiliation of standing naked before God and man.
When we are trying so hard to help other people who are hurting, we stay so unwilling to be helped ourselves though our worlds are secretly falling apart. As honored as we feel when our best friend trusts us with his darkest secrets, we somehow believe inside that it would be an overwhelming tragedy if he were burdened with our needs.
Can we stop pretending we are anything different? Can we get past our desire to hide our flaws and focus more on sharing what Christ died to save? When Saul transformed into Paul, do we believe his sins were somehow hidden away? Instead, he wrote publically about them so that we could praise Jesus who forgave such a despicable person.
When the author of James commanded us to confess our sins, did he put any recommendations on whom we should hide our souls from?
I won’t pretend that our sin won’t ruin our reputation. I won’t promise that every person we tell will be as forgiving as God. I can’t even reassure you that I won’t foolishly judge you for our sins.
I promise that God is glorified.
As a campus, we sin, and there is no better time than now to repent. As a campus, we can tell each other about the marvelous work God is doing through our failures.
My name is Timothy Baldi, and I am a sinner graduating from Bryan College. My name is Timothy Baldi, and my sins reveal the glory of God.
By Tim Baldi
Copyeditor