During this holiday season, I find myself thinking often of my friend and mentor, the late Ross M. Lence, who was the happiest and most fulfilled man who I have known in my life. A couple of weeks ago, as I was preparing my tribute to Ross, I listened to a remarkable sermon at my church in The Woodlands in which a visiting speaker, Craig Hill, a New Testament scholar at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., talked about his lifelong “project” to find fulfillment in his life:
Beyond mere survival, to what goal are we most directed? With what do we most concern ourselves during the course of our waking hours? Certainly, a variety of things require our attention: what we’ll eat, what we’ll wear, how we’ll accomplish the tasks before us. These all concern us, but none of them dominates our lives in quite the way that something else does. That thing is so central that it has been called “The Project.”
I started working on my project when I was quite small, smaller than I can consciously remember. That time that I bought my mother a present for no special occasion with my allowance, the times I mowed the lawn or did other jobs without being askedñlittle did I know that I was hard at work on my project. The criticisms and childhood taunts that stung, the disappointment at not being chosen a part of the group, little did I understand that the hurt I felt was that of a project threatening to fail.
People have variously described the project. It is called the quest for meaning, the desire for competence. the need for self-esteem and purpose. Behind it all is the question “Who am I?”–or, more particularly, “Do I matter?” [. . .]
It’s the pervasiveness of the project that is so interesting. It lurks around every corner; it’s in the very prejudices, intentions, and dreams that guide our lives. What impression will I give by my dress, my speech, my possessions, my job? Will the others in the office think that I’m a good employee; am I a good mother or father; was I “being myself” when I behaved that way last night? How am I doing?
Dr. Hill went on to describe how each one of us shares the struggle of “the project” and how an essential element of Christian theology is based upon Christ’s teaching and example of how to conquer it. His sermon was so insightful that I came away from church that day wishing I had a copy of it.
Well, Asbury Theological Institute scholar Ben Witherington happened to be at my church that day, too, and he had the same thought as I did. Except that he counts Dr. Hill as a friend and was able to get a copy of the sermon, which he has posted here. Regardless of your religious persuasion or whether you believe in a religion at all, take a moment during this holiday season to read it. You will not be disappointed.
