WHEN IT’S TIME TO LEAVE HOME

WHEN IT’S TIME TO LEAVE HOME

Daniel 1:3-6

³ Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in s= ome of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility- ⁴ young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind = of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. ⁵ The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and af= ter that they were to enter the king's service.

Well…that sort of sounds like college, doesn’t it—except for the part abo= ut eating from the king’s table—everybody complains about the food= at college! But here in our text= for today, we have these young people who are described as being “without= any physical defect, handsome (or beautiful), showing aptitude for every kind of learning (that’s you guys, right--smart group!).

These young people were to study Babylonian language and literature for three yea= rs…before going to work for the government—kinda’ like you. Of course, you’ll also study= math, science, economics, western civ, and the like; so college may take you four= or five years…but there are some similarities.

The book of Daniel begins by telling us about a group of young men who are a lo= ng way from home. We know their = names: Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Mishach, and Abednego. Those were not their real names—just the names they were given when they left home.

Belteshazzar’s real name, for example, was Daniel. We know his name because he’s lifted up in Scripture as a role model for the rest of us “when it’s time to leave home.”<= /p>

Graduates, for many of you, this time has arrived.&nb= sp; Some of you have already been away, but completing your college stud= ies is just another step in the process of leaving home—so this applies to o= ur college grads as well. In fac= t, it really relates to all of us, because there are pressures on us to leave hom= e in one way or another throughout our lives.

Daniel’s story teaches us some important lessons for this challenging, frightening, = but very enticing moment when it’s our time to leave home. I want to share just a few of these= with you today:

1. WHEN IT’S TIME TO LEAVE HOME= , WHO YOU ARE DOES NOT CHANGE.= Sounds simple enough, but some people seem to forget this when they leave home. But Daniel didn’t. In brand new surroundings, with loads of new opportunities and temptations, he stayed tr= ue to who he was. This is why he’s held up in Scripture as a good example for us.

A pastor went by to see a dear little lady from his congregation. She was in a nursing home because = of dementia. “Do you know my name?”= he asked her. “No,” = she said, “but if you ask at the front desk, they can tell you.”

Sometimes people with dementia forget who they are. This can also happen to us when we leave home—a kind of dementia sets in. One of the great tests of maturity,= in fact, is whether we can remember who we are when the folks who have raised = us and nurtured us are not around.

Graduates, some of you will be leaving home, but I promise you that the experience of going off to college or the job market does not begin to compare with the trauma faced by the young men in our text for today. It was not their inten= tion to leave home, nor was it their choice. Their homeland of Jerusalem had been conquered. They were carried off into captivity against their will.

Now, granted, college may seem like a foreign country to you for a while, but th= ese young men were carted off to a very distant place called Babylon. For the Hebrews, most of what was w= rong with the world was thought to be centered in Babylon.

Your parents may have similar impressions of college—you’ll have to = ask them why they’re so concerned—but I assure you that their worry= ing over you is completely normal—just as was their parents worrying over them—and for good reaso= n, in many cases!

Anyway, Daniel and his friends had been taken by force to Babylon, and everything was different t= here. Judah was their home. In Babylon, everything was foreign to them. So Daniel and his friends had to struggle with who they were going to be in th= is new environment.

Would they be able to remember who they were and what they stood for? And that’s the very same ques= tion that confronts you as new graduates today.= In a world that’s changing as rapidly as ours is, though, it&#= 8217;s really a question that confronts all of us.

The bottom line question for us as Christians is this: will we stick to our principles in a culture that finds allegiance to Jesus Christ increasingly = outdated and foreign? Graduates, I cha= llenge you and I challenge us all to remember who we are in Christ Jesus. Whether at home or away, who we are should not change.

2. Which brings us to this: WHEN IT’S TIME TO LEAVE HOME, T= HE RULES FOR LIVING DO NOT CHANGE. When you’re going through a time of transition, it is so easy to think that somehow the basic rules for living have changed.

Let me give you a simple, but important example related to our time. Time management is one of the big challenges at college.

A wise professor who wanted to spare his students some pain put a gallon jar = on a table in front of his students. He took a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed each of them in the jar.= When the jar could not hold any mo= re rocks, he asked, “Is the jar full?”

The students said, “Yes.” But then he reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of sand. He poured the sand into= the jar, shaking it a bit so it would filter down through the stones. When the jar would not hold any mo= re sand, he asked, “Is it full now?” Some said yes, but others weren= 217;t so sure.

Then the professor reached for a pitcher of water and began pouring it into the = jar as well until the water reached the rim.&n= bsp; “Okay,” he said, “what’s the point?”

“There’s always room for more,” one student said. Another chimed in, “There= 217;s unused potential in each of our lives.” Not bad answers, just not what the= professor was looking for.

“The point is this,” he said. “Here at college and throughout the rest of your lives, if you want to be success= ful, you must make sure you put the big rocks in first—and each one of us = must decide what those big rocks will be for us.”

The rules for making wise decisions, for managing our time, for honoring Christ with our lives—these don’t change. Leaving home doesn’t change = any of these things. It’s just= that the responsibility for making the decisions becomes ours. Growing up, leaving home, means we choose the rocks!

And in these decisive moments at college or in the workplace, it’s so eas= y to think that the rules for our lives have changed. You’ll face some pressure to = think that the rules that directed your lives so far no longer apply.

Paul warns us in Romans: “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.” (Romans 12:2, Phillips) We have to decide whether away at college, or away on vacation, or an out-of town business trip--growing up means deciding for ourselves.

Remember how the Babylonians attempted to force Daniel and his friends to conform to their ways. They tried to change how they talked and how they studied. They gave them food and drink unlike anything they had ever consumed before. They even changed their names. Daniel, a good Hebrew name, became Belteshazzar, a Babylonian name.

Think about this: to take away a person’s name is to remove from them somet= hing of their history and their sense of who they are and where they have come f= rom. We don’t choose our own names. They come to us from our mothers and fathers who often get them from their mothers, fathers, and grandparents.

When slaves were brought to this country, their masters would change their names= . Some of us still remember Roots. Kunte Kinte’s name was chang= ed to Toby. But he was proud of his= old name. He hated the new one. <= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Defiantly, he would say to his capt= ors, my name is Kunte Kinte.

Listen, friends, there are far more subtle forces at work in our world today which conspire to enslave us and make us forget who we are. There are temptations= and pressures to change the rules that we live by. How many Christians lose the= ir way in the midst of a world that tempts us to be something less than what G= od intends.

I like the story about Alexander the Great—the one where a young soldie= r is brought before him to stand trial. The young man is charged with cowardice = in battle.

Alexander had absolute authority in such matters, and he had little patience with cowards. You see, Alexander d= id not follow his soldiers into battle--he led the charge himself. He expected his men to be courageous also.

But here was this soldier, a mere boy, not yet old enough to shave. Alexander looked at him, and realiz= ing how young he was, his anger began to give way to some understanding and sympathy.

There was still a lesson to be learned, though, and Alexander aimed to teach it! = “What is your name, soldier?&= #8221; Alexander asks. “My name is = the same as yours, sir,” the boy said, “Alexander.”

With that, the anger was obvious in Alexander’s face. He leapt to his feet, grabbed the b= oy’s collar, and said, “Young man, either change your behavior or change y= our name.”

When we come to Christ, we take His Name as our own. We are Christians. But it takes courage to live our li= ves for Jesus Christ. My charge to you, graduates, and to all the rest of us, i= s to live up to our name. Live fai= thfully for Christ. Stick to the rule= s and ways you know to be right for your life.

3. And here’s why: WHEN IT’S TIME TO LEAVE HOME, WHAT’S BEST FOR YOUR LIFE DOES NOT CHANGE.

This is a confusing world, whether we’re still at home or far away. Heading off to college, though, oft= en means we encounter people who seem smarter than anybody we’ve ever kn= own before; and at the same time, they are saying things that are different from anything we’ve ever heard before.

I’m reminded of the woman who attended a lecture to hear a naval officer explai= n the way guided missiles function. After the lecture, she went up to the officer and thanked him for his brilliant presentation.

“Before hearing your lecture,” she said, “I was thoroughly confused abo= ut how these missiles work.” “And how about now?” the officer asked. “Well, I’m still just as confused,” she said, “but on a much deeper level.”

Maybe some of you haven’t had that experience in your educational process so far, but you most likely will. But listen: don’t let anybody confuse you about life, and the things that matter = most in life. Be wide open to new knowledge and growth.

Just be very careful and discerning toward anyone who tries to force you to choo= se between who you are, what you believe, and how you know you should live in order to embrace what they claim is a better way for you.

Remember how with Daniel, the first test came when he was being told what he was to = eat and drink. He had a decision = to make—would it be the food and wine from the King’s table or the diet that had served him well back home?&n= bsp;

This was about much more than the so-called “freshman fifteen.” This was about convictions and loy= alties and whether Daniel would stay true to his faith and his principles.

Well, you know the story, how Daniel remained loyal, and before long, everyone co= uld see that this was best for his life. In verse 15, we’re told that Daniel “looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.”

It’s a simple message, really. Lea= ving home does not mean that we should leave everything. There’s a whole lot that we’ve learned back home that we need to keep with us on our journey through life, wherever it takes us:
>>who we are,
>>the rules we live by,
>>what’s best for our lives.

These are just a few of the most important things that we need to take along with us—when it’s time to leave home. Know that our love and prayers go = with you. Congratulations, graduates. We’re so pro= ud of you. God bless you!