Author’s note: Although I may take inspiration from true-life experiences, none of these characters are meant to describe or call out any specific person.
Francesca rested her chin in her hand and stared blankly at the pages of her Bible, which she had turned to Philippians 3:15.
“What does the inspired apostle mean when he says ‘as many as be perfect’ in the text?” Reverend asked. “This is an exhortation, obviously, but how can he exhort only those of us who are perfect?”
Silence enveloped the room once more. Francesca pretended to search her Bible for the answer when really she was just trying hard not to make eye contact with the minister. “Anyone? What does ‘perfect’ mean here?”
To Francesca’s left, the freshman boys slumped in their seats, not even bothering to look like they cared about the subject at hand. To her right, her friend Helen fiddled with her key fob. Helen should be answering the question. She was a senior, and the seniors always knew the answers.
Well, it wasn’t that Francesca didn’t know the answer. It was just that no one ever talked in Young People’s. They would think she was a nerd if she did. And she always went on and on explaining what she meant, so people got bored of her talking.
Across from her, Danielle raised her hand.
“Danielle?” Reverend called.
“Paul isn’t talking about being perfect, as in, without sin. He’s talking about people who are regenerated. Like, perfect because of justification and sanctification.” Danielle looked annoyed at having been forced to answer another question. She had answered three questions already.
Francesca watched Helen play with her key fob, only half listening to what Reverend said in response.
“What is the rest of the verse talking about?” Reverend posed.
Wallace, a senior who always contributed his share as he ought, spoke up. “It’s talking about how God will turn us from our sin. If we are not pressing toward the mark, He will put us back on the straight and narrow.”
Reverend nodded. “And how might that look in our lives? Does that mean that we just sit and wait for God to turn us?”
The kids shuffled their feet and said nothing. Half-heartedly, Francesca searched her mind for an answer. She wouldn’t say anything even if she did know what to say, so she didn’t bother too much with finding an answer.
“I see some heads shaking,” Reverend prompted. “Can any of you tell me what it does mean? Can you give some examples?”
For a moment, Francesca considered how patient Reverend had to be to sit at the head of thirty young people, the majority of whom looked at him like a deer in the headlights every time he asked a question.
Not even Danielle or Wallace raised their hands. They knew the answers just as much as everybody else did, but they hated to be the only ones talking. Francesca wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt and raised her hand.
Reverend looked almost relieved. “Francesca?”
“It shows His faithfulness in preserving us,” she said. Her voice came out barely louder than a whisper. “He shows us our sin, and our sin will never be so big that we lose our salvation.”
Helen nudged her as Reverend thanked her for her contribution and asked for more viewpoints. “Nice one,” she mouthed.
Francesca felt like she might die. It wasn’t that anyone was looking at her weirdly. If anything, they looked grateful that she had rescued them from awkward silence. But clearly, she had missed something in her answer. Reverend had needed to ask for more viewpoints, hadn’t he? This was another reason why she hated to contribute. Sometimes, she was wrong. It was embarrassing.
Finally, Reverend wrapped up the discussion and closed with prayer. The society members filed out of the classroom, suddenly finding the voices that they had apparently lost during the discussion.
“Was it just me, or was that extra painful today?” Francesca asked Danielle in the parking lot. She wanted Danielle to know that she understood.
“It would have been less painful if everybody participated,” Danielle retorted. “I participated! It’s just hard, you know, ‘cause the room is so silent. I sounded like a mouse. It’s just so scary.”
“You’re talking fine now. Look, is it scary when you’re talking to a group of friends? Like we did at McDonald’s last night?”
“Uh, no. But that’s different.” Danielle didn’t seem to get the social anxiety that Francesca could get from talking during society, and it was really bugging her. “It’s not that different,” Danielle said. “You have school classes with these people. It’s not like you don’t know them. If everybody would just step it up and talk, it wouldn’t seem so out of place for you to say something. And we would enjoy it a lot more.”
“I don’t think you get it.”
Danielle sighed. “Trust me, no one is judging you for answering a question during society.”
“You don’t have to worry about that ‘cause you never answer anything wrong.” “I did that just two weeks ago. I gave my answer, and Reverend said that it was okay, but he was looking for something different.”
Francesca frowned. “I don’t remember that.”
“Of course not. Nobody is judging you.” Danielle got into her car with her younger brother and shut the door.
Danielle’s words drilled into Francesca’s mind as she drove home and sat through dinner with her family. Danielle was just mad at everybody. She didn’t get it. Francesca understood that some people didn’t answer because they were lazy. But there were also people who were too
anxious to answer. And there were people who weren’t good at theology and didn’t know the answer.
“So how was society?” Mom asked during dinner.
“It was good,” Francesca said.
“Who talked? Did you?”
“Yeah. And Danielle and Wallace. And Beth and Abby said stuff too.”
The conversation moved on. Mom had asked, “Who talked?” Francesca tried to see everything from Danielle’s perspective. What kind of a question was “who talked?” It was a discussion. Everybody was supposed to talk.
She guessed it wouldn’t hurt for her to talk just once every meeting. It would make it easier on everyone else if there were another person contributing to the discussion. It would be scary, and she might hate it, but she would still try. For Danielle.
That evening at church, Francesca scribbled in her notebook. Reverend was preaching on the profits of Bible study with II Timothy 3:16 as his text. He had already spoken about personal devotions and was moving on to the profits of group Bible study. Francesca listened carefully. She’d heard several sermons and speeches on the text before, but Reverend always had something new and profound to teach her.
“It is easy for us to forget how important group Bible study is,” Reverend said. “We come because we are expected to come. We attend church services out of tradition, because that’s just what we do on Sundays. And we view Bible study the same way. Horribly, sinfully, we may come to view Bible study as an obligation.
“It is not an obligation. It is a privilege! We have this great gift from God—” He held up his Bible. “—And we have the freedom to speak of it with fellow believers. So why should we view it as an obligation?
“The Bereans searched the scriptures daily, says Acts 17:11. ‘They received the Word with all readiness of mind.’ So ought we to do. It is the will of God that you would grow through the study of His Word. It is your calling to receive it with readiness of mind!”
Francesca’s pen faltered. He was right. Participating in the discussion with her Young People’s Society wasn’t just an obligation that she had to fulfill so that Danielle wouldn’t be upset. She had the privilege to discuss beautiful truths with fellow believers. She should use it. Her calling was to receive the Word with readiness of mind. Her calling was to use the Word for instruction, not only of others, but of herself.
In the end, it didn’t matter if everybody judged her for giving a bad answer. Reverend would correct her, and the instruction would profit her. God would use the discussion to grow her in her faith. He would use it to turn her from her sin, just like the society had talked about that morning.
She bit back a smile. Participating during society meetings would be scary and difficult. But when the time came, she would pray not to be scared. In fact, she would pray about it regularly. She had a calling. She would search the scriptures daily and receive them with readiness of mind.
Claire Mancusi
Young Calvinists 