Sedaven Alumni Reunion

 

[1]

2 John 1:12 Good News Translation (GNT)

¹² I have so much to tell you, but I would rather not do it with paper and ink; instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you personally, so that we shall be completely happy.

 

It had been 52 years since I had seen most of my Sedaven High School class members. When I took a trip to South Africa in 2011, one of those members, Willie Uys, organized the very first class reunion ever, using my visit as a catalyst. The time together was all too short but richly rewarding.

We first went to Flip Retief’s home and carried him out of his home so he could join us. His wife told us this was the first time he had been out of the house, except to go to hospital, in many months since he had severely scalded his foot in an accident. He had sunk into a depression that was consuming all of his energy. He told me that he despaired of ever being able to walk again. We were able to spend much of another day together comparing memories and experiences. We also shared how our Christian experiences have changed from the rather bleak outlook we had upon leaving high school to the richness of the grace of Christ that we rejoice in now. He later turned everything around; his foot has healed enough for him to walk on it again.

During our reunion, others shared their life experiences, some good and some tragic. We grieved about some of our classmates who had already passed on. We agreed to try and get together again. Flip summed up the joy we felt by saying that our conversation had brought closure to many of his feelings about class members.

The group at the reunion had been very anxious that I share their news with Smuts, our erstwhile class president, since he also lives in Southern California. A little less than a year later, I had a chance to talk with Smuts about our high school experience. He had not been able to be with us during that reunion. He was as thrilled as I was about the news.

Thank you, Lord, for the rich bonds of friendship and the even deeper bonds of Christian brotherhood that you have given us so that we can indeed be “completely happy.”

 

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[1]  The second man from the left is Willie Uys, I am third, and Flip Retief is sitting in the front.

Perfection

 

[2]

 

1 Peter 1:3 Good News Translation

A Living Hope

³ Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope,

 

This morning I read[3] “How beautiful you are, my love, how perfect you are!”

My mind roamed randomly through everyone I knew. I could think of no one that this compliment could be applied to. Firstly, my loving wife came to mind. She is precious in so many ways. She has faithfully looked after me as I lay at death’s door. In many ways she has been and still is the perfect love partner for me. Of course, when you get to know anyone, you begin to notice their foibles.

I thought of the people whom I have looked up to over the years: my colleagues and former associates. Then there were the teachers and pastors, some of whom spent considerable time and effort to meet my physical, financial, and spiritual needs. I admired many of them and am thankful for their care and interest in my well-being. But perfect? Not by a long shot.

One candidate might have been Pastor P. H. Coetzee. He preached the most powerful sermons I had ever heard as a young kid growing up. He ran a week of prayer at my primary school and held up the image of perfection in a beautiful way. When I was 8, I attended a junior camp at Hartenbos in South Africa, and he led out in a way that captured my admiration. Had you asked me about a perfect person when I was ten or twelve, I might have thought of him.

When I was studying at Sedaven High School, he was the chairman of the school’s board. At one point his son, Leon, was only peripherally involved in a gross breach of school principles that caused the faculty to expel about a dozen students. Many of those expelled were rebellious and evil in every sense imaginable. In many ways, Leon was an ideal student, so P. H. Coetzee called the school board together and reinstated his son. (Mark Twain[4] once quipped, “In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made school boards.”)

He couldn’t just reinstate his son, however, without being accused of nepotism. So, he had all of those students reinstated in school. This resulted in a total breakdown of discipline in the school. It almost caused the school to close. Suddenly those perfection images of Pastor Coetzee, were ripped from my eyes.

None of us are perfect[5]; “everyone has sinned and is far away from God's saving presence.” As Peter writes “Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy He gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope.” This hope is that Christ has died for us so that we might live in His perfection. God’s plan is stated thus:[6] “As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our sins from us.” He then looks at us and says, “How beautiful you are, my love, how perfect you are!”

Lord, thank You that in Your eyes we appear with Christ’s perfection. Thank You for saving us completely!

 

 

 

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[2] https://i.pinimg.com/originals/46/63/7b/46637b6155595658043c561f192ba7dc.png

[3] Song of Solomon 4:7 GNT

[4] Mark Twain Following the Equator: A Trip around the World

[5] Romans 3:23 GNT

[6] Psalm 103:12 GNT