I don’t know if I’ll have the chance to address Sr. 3’s again so I feel some pressure. I have taught you in Jr. High and danced with you at Bunkasai. I have grown to love you. I want the best for you.
It is not by chance that all of you are here at Soshin. You are here because God picked you to be here. God arranged for you to hear the message of His extravagant love for you, the message of hope in Jesus Christ.
It is fantastic that you have heard of God’s love for you. And now that you know this, you have the chance to respond to His amazing grace. However, you are also responsible for what you now know. You will have no excuse before God. In Romans it says “each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Rom. 14:12)
Let’s read I Peter 1:18-19 together:
“Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you.”
Just like you, I knew about Jesus’ love for me. I sang hymns, I heard the Bible stories. But I failed to notice my own selfishness. I ignored the hurt I caused other people. I disregarded any sign that my life had no meaningful direction. Because of that, it was hard for me to recognize just how amazing Jesus’ love is. People like me, who think they are lovable, don’t appreciate God’s love. We don’t know how incredible it is that God in heaven, the God who made us, would care that much about us.
Last month my father died. I am grieving the loss of my father. I often think about how patient and kind he was. Then I remember when I wasn’t kind or understanding with him. It makes me cry.
I can’t undo what I have done. But because of the sacrifice of Jesus, I have the hope that everything will turn out to God’s glory. I have the hope that forgiveness brings. I have the hope that I will see my father again in heaven.
I saw a Christian hip hop dance group last month. They were incredible. One of their dance numbers showed people expressing gratitude to “Jesus” for rescuing them from their dead end lives. They understood how amazing the love of God is because they knew how hopeless their lives were. The hip hop dancers were dressed very much like the Soshin dance club members. The “Jesus” was dressed in a long white robe like the ones they use in the Christmas pageant. One by one, the dancers come up to Jesus. They are miming thanks for being saved from their “dead-end, empty-headed life.” Then each one hip hop/break dances their joy and gratitude for Jesus. After the last one dances, they all come to Jesus and invite him to dance. Does Jesus dance hip hop? Perhaps Jesus sings hymns. Maybe he plays the organ. But hip hop? Then “Jesus” gets down and break dances with the group! It brought tears to my eyes to realize that YES! JESUS HIP HOP DANCES! That’s what the Bible means! Jesus loves us so much that he became like us, to identify with us, you and me!
Won’t you join me as a Japanese follower of Jesus. I want to dance and sing with you now in a life filled with joy, gratitude and hope. And I want to dance and sing with you in heaven where I will be fluent in Japanese and you will be fluent in English!
Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many (mansions) rooms. I am going to prepare a place for you.” I really hope your room is next to mine.