Josh Carpenter: Chapel Reflection
August is Josh Carpenter’s least favorite month of the year.
During Carpenter’s years playing soccer in middle school and high school, August meant physical conditioning in the hot, sticky summer weather.
The Kuyper grad, who now attends Mid America Reformed Seminary, used his sports conditioning experience to bring Hebrews 10:19-25 to life for attendees of the twice-weekly service held for the Kuyper Community in the Vos Chapel.
This passage deals with the idea of persevering in faith through life’s trials. Connecting the metaphor of sports conditioning to the Christian life, Carpenter said, “While we hated conditioning in the moment, we eventually saw its benefits. It’s the same way in our walk with God: we are strengthened through our hardships.”
Leading his listeners deeper into exploring the theme of persevering in faith, Carpenter emphasized three exhortations given by the author within the passage: drawing near to God, holding onto what we believe, and the encouragement found in community.
Carpenter noted that our journey through life is often hard, and we experience grief and sorrow as well as joy. Like a marathon, he said, life sometimes seems to fly by. Other times, it drags out like sports conditioning in the sticky August heat.
But if we persevere in our faith throughout our lives, Carpenter said, we will experience our ultimate reward in Christ. He closed the chapel service by saying, “As we enter into eternity, may we hear those wonderful words: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”
