Out of This World

​​​by Adam Kronberger / Head of School

Here’s a fun exercise: See how many times you can fold a single piece of paper in half. Go ahead, try it! This week in chapel several students accepted that exact challenge. Three students made 6 folds and one student made 7 folds. Both Mythbusters and mathematical formulas appear to uphold 12 as the maximum number of folds possible.  Yet there is a supernatural Biblical formula that blows that number out of the water... the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

We read in Mark 4:8 that when the message of the Kingdom of God falls on good ground it can yield thirtyfold and sixtyfold and even a hundredfold!While the traditional application of this parable is that it represents a return equal to 30 or 60 or 100 times, the impact of the Gospel is rarely linear, but rather exponential. C.S. Lewis wrote, “Good and evil both increase at compound interest.” Each positive impact of the Gospel in individual lives and in community builds upon itself producing fruit that can be challenging to measure. For example, a piece of paper folded 7 times is as thick as a notebook. 10 folds equals the width of your hand. 17 folds would be taller than an average house. 30 folds is as thick as the outer limits of the atmosphere. 50 folds is as tall as the sun. 70 folds is equivalent to the distance of 11 light-years. 85 folds would be 4 times the diameter of our galaxy. 100 folds would be equivalent to the distance of 12 billion light-years or the radius of the known universe. As you can see, the thirty/sixty/hundred-fold ROI (return on investment) in the Kingdom of God is out of this world!

How can each of us and each of our children be good ground so we can experience and participate in such amazing growth? Consider another popular parable in Matthew 7 about building the foundation of a house. A solid foundation built on rock is contrasted with the shaky foundation built on the sand.  How is one’s life built upon the Rock of Jesus Christ? Both vs. 24 and 26 explain that we must not only “hear the words of God”, but we must “put them into practice.” Godly knowledge must be partnered with application. The process of discipleship in our homes and our school hallways could not be phrased in simpler terms. So each time you fold a newspaper, fold a blanket, or fold an omelet, remember the phenomenal folding promise in God’s Word for those who put it into practice.
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– Adam Kronberger / Head of School