January 12, 2006
The president of Hesston College invited students, faculty, and staff to "Lengthen
Your Cords and Strengthen Your Stakes" during the new spring semester.
President Howard Keim spoke Wednesday, January 11, during the first chapel
of the new semester, which began January 10.
Keim based his address on the words of Isaiah 54:1-3. He noted that the first
39 chapters of Isaiah contained warnings and predictions of hardship as the people
of Israel faced exile in the future. Then chapters 40 through 66 look beyond
exile and begin to speak promises of better times coming, with the image of a
tent needing to be enlarged because now God is concerned with the world and gathering
people to himself.
"The message of Isaiah is timeless," Keim said, "filled with both
hardship and the cycles of difficulty and prosperity as well as looking forward
to a new day. We know a little about hardship, the people in Iraq and Darfur
(Sudan) know something about hardship, the people in Africa and parts of Europe
who've experienced ethnic cleansing know something about hardship.
"We have increasing energy consumption and lack of attention to the environment,
we know about global warming, millions of people are dying from AIDS, and the
gap between the rich and poor is growing wider," Keim continued. "Churches
are sometimes shrinking, and there seems to be increasing polarization within
Christianity as well as between Christianity and other religions.
"We're ready for some good news," Keim said. "We hear the promise
that the barren one who did not conceive will gather children and God asks us
to enlarge the place of our tent. Stretch the curtains wide, lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.
"Are you ready to receive that promise?" Keim asked. "Are you
ready to not only learn to write and speak, but to use your voice for justice
and peace? Are you ready to learn to not only speak, but to listen, and to collaborate
with other people? Are you ready to break down barriers between people? Are you
ready to not only excel in natural science, but to turn your efforts to healing,
to produce better food, to eliminate disease, and to build structures that are
friendly to the environment? Are you ready to excel in business to contribute
to society and to eliminate the causes of poverty? Are you ready to articulate
your belief in Jesus in a way that invites others to follow him, too?"
Keim told his audience if they answer the questions with a "yes," then
they are in the right place. "Here (at Hesston College) we can lengthen
our cords," he said. "We can strengthen our stakes. There are opportunities
here that we cannot exhaust in the two or three years that we spend here."
Keim suggested that students can lengthen their cords by working with preschoolers
in the college's preschool, by working with frail elders through the sociology
department, by aiding the homeless and those suffering with HIV/AIDS in Newton,
by advocating through Amnesty International, and through disaster assistance.
"We can learn to know people who are very different from us, both within
the U.S. and beyond," Keim added. "And we can think through new ideas."
Keim also encouraged students to strengthen their stakes. "Be grounded in
God's and your salvation history--know it, understand it, and respond to it.
Don't just memorize it to get through a class," he said. "Study, really
study and get into it. Really engage the material. Take advantage of the wisdom
of your professors."
Keim also called the students to ground themselves in relationships that matter. "Don't
let these people be a passing thing," he said. "You can have casual
conversations if you want, or you can develop in-depth relationships.
"If ever we needed strong, young minds and passion that leads to positive
action, that time is now," Keim concluded. "The book of Isaiah holds
both the warning and the promise, and we embrace both.
"So may God bless us this semester as we lengthen our cords and strengthen
our stakes."