All I Really Need to Know

What follows is a transcript of our guest speaker's message from our Sunday morning gathering. We share these messages on our blog for those who appreciate the opportunity to read the sermon again—whether for deeper reflection, personal study, or a quieter moment of prayer and introspection. As you read, we invite you to linger with the words, notice what resonates, and remain open to how God may be speaking to you through them.

by Paula McLain

Good morning. It is an honor and a privilege to be here among this community of faith this morning, so I thank you for the invitation to come share the word with you today. Our scripture reading this morning comes from Colossians chapter 3 verses 12 through 17, and the title of our message today is, All I Really Need to Know.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion and kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another. If any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you.

And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you are called to peace, and be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, the Father, through him. May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of his word. As back-to-school season has been upon us, I'm reminded of the days when I was in school, and I remember this time of year as a time of a building anticipation of that first day of school.

As the days quickly approached, my mother would take us school shopping, and it usually consisted of going to visit my grandmother in St. Joseph, Missouri, and spending a few days. And this visit usually consisted of just a few moments of entertainment, maybe a movie or some miniature golf, along with hours of shopping as we hit all the stores to look for the best buys for our school supplies and a few new outfits to start the year off. And always, always a new pair of shoes.

I think my favorite part was the new pair of shoes. Making the decision of what shoes I would select took a lot of great thought and a lot of time. You see, I didn't want just any pair of shoes.

I wanted a pair that was fashionable, that others would envy, that I would desire to put on every day for the next 270 days. And I made a statement of who I was at that time, and of course, it had to fit within a certain budget. Now, this was a tall order to fill and always seemed to take a great amount of time and thought.

Once I had selected the right pair, I knew that I was truly ready for school. There was no stop in me. It was like they gave me the confidence I needed to be successful and to fit in all these preparations, a few days of fun with grandma and shopping to find the perfect outfit and supplies.

And at last, the first day of school approached, and I had preparations to make. What was I going to wear? What should I take in my lunch? Did I have all my supplies in order? And so forth. I would always review the roster to see who was in my class and review my class schedule.

Oh, what a day filled with a new outfit, including those new shoes of confidence, fresh school supplies in my brand new backpack, a delicious lunch in my new lunchbox, a new season, reuniting with friends, and a chance to crack open a new textbook. And then, reality hit. Over the next nine months, for approximately 180 days, I would be sitting in a classroom trying to find the inspiration to learn.

I did learn a lot over those many years, a lot about history and English and math, science, health, and more. But I do believe that over my entire adult life, which equates to many more years than I spent in school, I've come to learn far more from people and the Word of God than I did in the classroom. Now, don't get me wrong.

I'm not trying to minimize the importance of receiving your education. I've learned much there as well. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the most impactful and the most memorable lessons have been taught by others or by God.

There's a famous book you may all be familiar with called All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulgham. This book alludes that everything you need to know to live a meaningful life, you've already learned it in kindergarten. The following is an excerpt from the book, All I Really Need to Know About How to Live and What to Do and How to Be.

I learned in kindergarten, wisdom is not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandpile of Sunday school. There are things I learned like this: share everything, play fair, don't hit people, put things back where you found them, clean up your own mess, don't take things that aren't yours, say you're sorry when you've hurt somebody, wash your hands before you eat, flush, warm cookies and cold milk—they're good for you, live a balanced life, learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some, take a nap every afternoon; when you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together, wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup, the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we're all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup, they all die and so do we.

Then remember the Dick and Jane books and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all, look. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere: the golden rule and love and basic sanitation, ecology and politics and equality and sane living. Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world, and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap; or if all governments had a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess. And it's still true: no matter how old you are, when you go into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

This expert provides a pretty good outline in kindergarten terms yet applicable to adult life of how to live a meaningful life.

Yes, there are many things we learn in kindergarten. However, over the years, I've come to learn all we really need to know, I've learned from the Bible.

I'm a firm believer that the best way to teach others is to use stories in which the learner can relate to and they'll remember. And Jesus, he used parables—short stories with these hidden messages in his teachings. Jesus was a true teacher. He wanted everyone to not only hear his message but also see this message in the way he loved others through his actions.

Some of the main themes that Jesus taught were: love God; love your neighbors, yourself; forgive others who've wronged you; love your enemies; ask God for forgiveness of your sins; Jesus is a Messiah and has given the authority to forgive others; repentance of sins essential; don't be a hypocrite; don't judge others; the kingdom of God is near; it's not the rich and the powerful but the weak and the poor who will inherit this kingdom.

There's a simpler way of summarizing all I really need to know that I've learned from his teachings. I've learned all I really need to know is to have faith, hope and love.

Faith: a committed life to Christ does not come by accident; is a life that is purposefully lived. Paul explains, “I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” It'll take great faith to live for our Lord.

Paul had this faith in Christ to the extent that some accused him of being beside himself. However what these people did not understand is how one could love and have such a great faith in Christ. When we fail it's because of our lack of faith. We have to be aware that we must sustain our faith in Christ.

As Paul would later write to his beloved son in the faith, Paul would declare, “for I am already being poured out as a drink offering to end the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will give to me on that day and not to me only but also to all who have loved his appearing.” 2nd Timothy chapter 4 verses 6 through 8.

Would it not be wonderful to be able to state those same words when it comes our time to die? I believe Paul could state these words because he was totally committed to God in his life. I also believe that I would be totally committed to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we all could declare the same thing. It will take commitment on our parts to go to heaven. Thus I ask you: how committed to the Lord are you?

To me one of the most beautiful and meaningful passages is found when Paul stated, “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”

There is a tightrope walker who did these incredible aerial feats all over Paris. He would do tightrope acts of tremendously scary heights. Then he had a succeeding acts: he would do it blindfolded. Then he would go across the tightrope blindfolded pushing a wheelbarrow. And an American promoter read about this in the papers, and he wrote a to the tightrope walker saying, “tightrope, I don't believe that you can do it, but I'm willing to make you an offer for a very substantial sum of money besides all your transportation fees. I'd like to challenge you to do your act over Niagara Falls.”

Now tightrope wrote back, “sir although I've never been to America and seen the falls, I'd love to come.”

Well, after a lot of promotion and setting the whole thing up many people came to see the event. And tightrope was to start on the Canadian side and come to the American side, and he comes across the rope which is suspended over the treacherous part of the falls blindfolded, and he makes it across easily. The crowds go wild, and he comes to the promoter and he says, “excuse me. Well, Mr. Promoter, now do you believe I can do it?” “Well, of course I do. I mean, I just—I just saw you do it.” “no,” said tightrope. “do you really believe that I can do it?” “of course I do. You just did it.” “no, no, no,” said tightrope. “do you believe I can do it?” “yes,” said Mr. Promoter. “I believe you can do it.” “good,” said tightrope. “then you get in the wheelbarrow.”

The word believe in green means to live by. Excuse me.

This is a nice story. It makes you ask how often do you say that we believe in Christ that he can do it, but we refuse to get in the wheelbarrow. Yes you have to have faith.

Hope: a dear friend who passed away a few years ago at the age of 43, he told me once, “you always have to have hope, it's the one thing that sustains you.” He said, “you can lose love and faith from time to time but never ever lose hope.” He believed that hope was the desire and the belief in a better tomorrow. He was dying of complications as a result of cancer but he continually found hope which helped renew his faith. You see if you have hope he believed, you could always find love and faith again.

Isaiah 41 31: “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

From parade magazine comes the story of a self-made millionaire Eugene Land who greatly changed the lives of a sixth grade class in East Harlem. Mr. Lang had been asked to speak to a class of 59 sixth graders. What could he say to inspire these students most of whom would drop out of school? He wondered: how could he get those predominantly black and Puerto Rican children even to look at him? And scrap in his notes, he decided to speak from his heart. “stay in school,” he admonished, “and I'll help pay the college tuition for every one of you.” At that moment the lives of these students changed. “for the first time they had hope,” said one student. “I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me. It was a golden feeling.” And nearly 90 percent of the class went on to graduate from high school.

Our God believes in us and he's given us the gift of life with an opportunity to serve him. He's given us hope that gift. Excuse me, I'm getting so wound up. We too have something to look forward to just waiting for us.

This is my father's world was written by Maltby Davenport Babcock and it was published after his death in 1901. It was originally written as a poem containing 16 verses of four lines each, but Franklin Shepard set that poem to music in 1915 and he selected three verses for the final hymn. Babcock was a minister from Lockport, New York, and he'd often take walks overlooking a cliff where he would enjoy the view of beautiful Lake Ontario and the upstate New York scenery. And as he prepared to leave for his walks he'd often tell his wife that he was going out to see his father's world. “this is my father's world. Let me near forget that though the wrong seem off so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my father's world. Why should my heart be sad? The lord is king, the heavens ring, God reigns, let the earth be glad.”

I've learned no matter how hard life may get, to always have hope knowing this is my father's world and all is well with my soul.

And lastly, love. First Corinthians 13 13: “so these three things continue forever faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love.”

Now, love being a choice is how apostle Paul defines it: “but above all these things put on love which is the bond of perfection.”

What does it mean to put on? In his letter to both the church in Rome and a glaciated, apostle Paul also used the same terminology saying that we're to put on Christ. What this means is that the same choice we made to accept Jesus Christ as our savior and lord is the same choice we make to love. To put on Christ and to put on love is like getting dressed. It means to clothe oneself in. And we have a choice every morning as to what we're going to wear whether we're not we're going to even get out of bed and get dressed for work or stay at home in our pajamas.

And so, love—love is a choice. We have the choice to put on the attitude of love every day.

Bible also talks about love being more than merely words we speak; it's also communicated through our actions. The apostle john said, “my little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”

When Jesus was asked which commandment was greatest he quoted two. The first is our love for God: “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” But then Jesus gave us a second commandment that he said was like unto the first: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jimmy Carter is a former president of the United States. He's also a was a committed Christian. And every year Carter's home church of Plains Baptist Church would have a week of mission in his congregation where members would go out into the community and they would invite unchurched people to attend the church's revival meetings. And once Carter was asked to speak at another church in Georgia on the topic Christian witnessing. And in his preparation he decided he would share about his involvement in his home church's mission week, and he began to note down that in 14 years he had managed to visit over 140 homes in the local community. Carter felt quite proud of this achievement until he compared his witness for Christ with his witness for political office.

Carter realized that in his 1966 campaign for governor of Georgia that he'd gone out and met at least 300,000 people in an attempt to convince them to vote for him. The comparison struck me he said 300,000 visits for myself in three months and 140 visits for God in 14 years. You have to make a commitment to live a life for him by putting him first in your life and loving our God with all your hearts and everything that we do and also by loving others.

You see not only is the greatest of these love that I believe also it's the easiest to act on. I've learned far more from others than any school education could provide and I value this education. Many can learn from a book but very few from the heart.

Perhaps, perhaps if the world offered education on the importance of love things would be different. I've come to realize just how important those new shoes were each school year and the excitement that built for that first day of school. You see those shoes meant something to me in my school days.

They symbolized a fresh start, my confidence, a brand of who I was to my classmates but you see it symbolizes something much more significant nowadays. I guess all I really need to know is each morning as I get up to start a new day much like starting that new school year I need to leap with enthusiasm as I put on my shoes of faith, hope, and love and hope that I brand myself as a follower of Jesus by walking the walk and living by example, being a true disciple. Each day we must get up with that enthusiasm of that first day of school perhaps nowadays getting up each day to a new beginning and putting on our Jesus shoes and following his footsteps and walk the walk so others can see who he is creating a new brand as a follower of Christ to show others he's impacted our lives.

Sometimes we may be the only teachers for others to learn about God and his ways. These are some big shoes to fill but it's simply following his teachings and loving one another. Yes, I've come to realize all I really need to know is to have faith even when it's challenging, hope even when it's hopeless, and love even when it hurts.

All I really need to know is to have faith, hope, and love by holding each other's hands in the hand of God. Yep, that's all I really need to know.