20 hours ago
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Showered Wisdom
God's word to me today: no longer be captive to what the world offers but be captivated by what God offers...love, grace, forgiveness, joy, and peace
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
And he was amazed...
"And he was amazed at their lack of faith," Mark 6:6
This is one of the verses in the gospels that speaks of the humanity of Jesus. He had returned to Nazareth, his hometown. He was teaching and healing there as he had been everywhere. But the people there questioned him. This was the carpenter's son. They had watched him grow up! How could he be doing and saying these things? So Jesus left, but before he did the gospel writer tells us that he was amazed at their lack of faith. As the divine Son of God did he know how they would react? Yes. But in his humanity, he was amazed.
I sometimes wonder if God, even in his omniscience, is amazed at my lack of faith? I imagine that he is in that "I knew you weren't gonna believe me but really?" kind of way. I wish it were different. I wish I didn't question or doubt as much. I wish I had faith to really live like I believe that God keeps His promises.
I want a renewed faith. The faith of a child. The faith that believes my daddy can do anything and everything simply because He's my daddy. The faith that trusts in my father's words and reassurances even though I'm fearful of the monsters that might be lurking in the closet. The faith that wants to just lay back and let my daddy wow me of stories of his own making, helping me believe in the things that seem impossible.
And God's word promises me that if I have faith, even faith as small as a mustard seed, that I can move mountains. Instead of God being amazed at my lack of faith, I want to be amazed by His response as a result of my faith!
This is one of the verses in the gospels that speaks of the humanity of Jesus. He had returned to Nazareth, his hometown. He was teaching and healing there as he had been everywhere. But the people there questioned him. This was the carpenter's son. They had watched him grow up! How could he be doing and saying these things? So Jesus left, but before he did the gospel writer tells us that he was amazed at their lack of faith. As the divine Son of God did he know how they would react? Yes. But in his humanity, he was amazed.
I sometimes wonder if God, even in his omniscience, is amazed at my lack of faith? I imagine that he is in that "I knew you weren't gonna believe me but really?" kind of way. I wish it were different. I wish I didn't question or doubt as much. I wish I had faith to really live like I believe that God keeps His promises.
I want a renewed faith. The faith of a child. The faith that believes my daddy can do anything and everything simply because He's my daddy. The faith that trusts in my father's words and reassurances even though I'm fearful of the monsters that might be lurking in the closet. The faith that wants to just lay back and let my daddy wow me of stories of his own making, helping me believe in the things that seem impossible.
And God's word promises me that if I have faith, even faith as small as a mustard seed, that I can move mountains. Instead of God being amazed at my lack of faith, I want to be amazed by His response as a result of my faith!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Feeling at Home
I traveled to Blakely this week to attend the funeral for my aunt. As we were driving through the streets of town, I was taken back to a moment in time (or several moments in time) from my childhood. You see, my dad was one of the only members of the family that didn't live in town. Everyone else (except for my Uncle Clarence) stayed there, raised their families there, made their homes there. My dad didn't. So when we traveled to visit my grandmother and the rest of the family, I always felt like the outsider. Let me be quick to say that it's no fault of my family's. It was just how I always felt.
Many of my memories of Blakely involved anticipation. I remember the anticipation of turning on the final road to my grandparent's house. I remember seeing the donkey on the corner where we turned, hearing our family dog bark as he knew he was almost back "home," and looking across the field towards my grandparents' house hoping to get a glimpse of my grandmother on the back porch awaiting our arrival. This was joyous anticipation. I couldn't wait to get there. I loved my grandparent's house. It was where my dad was born. I knew it would be full of wonderful smells of my grandmother's cooking. It felt like my second home. While my mom insisted that I always mind my manners, I didn't have to be on my best behavior there. I could just relax and be myself.
As we were driving down a street in town today, I was immediately taken back to a moment in time that held a different kind of anticipation. Nervous anticipation. In the back seat of my parent's car I was taken back to when I was about 8 or 9 years old. We were traveling down the same street, headed to my aunt's house. I was nervous. I knew everyone else coming to her house would be completely comfortable there. They lived together, saw one another all of the time, all of my cousins when to school together and had lots to talk about, they had the same friends. They thought nothing of just walking in the door. I, on the other hand, stood and knocked. I felt like I had to be on my best behavior, like I couldn't really be myself. Like I had to be the person they thought I was instead of the person I am. I remember having this feeling more strongly when my parents were dropping me off at some family member's house. If they stayed with me, I was okay. If I was by myself, it was a whole other story. I was fearful. Even now I don't understand why I was fearful. After all, these people were my family. They loved me.
My sister wasn't plagued with the same fears. She never wanted to stay at my grandmother's house. She wanted to be with my cousins. She thrived being with the rest of the family. She never has been one to be content just to sit still and she wasn't then either. I remember on several occasions going to my cousins' house to spend the night. I never wanted to be too far from her. It drove her crazy. But it made me feel more comfortable. It made it bearable. Again, I have no clue why I felt this way. My cousins are great, wonderful, welcoming people. They treated me just like what I was...a member of the family. But they were unfamiliar. I felt like I was the only unfamiliar one trapped in the midst of their world. I wanted to feel like I belonged, but I never did. And to be honest, to this day, I still feel the same way. I try not to, but nothing has changed. I stick close to my mom and dad. I am fine as long as they are there with me. Sad, I know, for a grown woman, but those feelings just will not go away.
I love my family. They are dear, dear people. But as I thought about this strange phenomenon in my life today, I wondered if that's how unchurched individuals feel in the midst of the church. Do they feel alone? Do they feel like they don't belong? Do they come to the doors of the church with nervous anticipation instead of joyful anticipation? Do they recognize the kindness of the people there but still feel like an outsider? Do they desperately long for someone to cling to, someone to feel safe around?
And what about me? Do I respond to that longing in the right way or do I overlook them? Do I just go about my business with my friends at my church, forgetting all along that it's not really my church anyway. It's God's church. How does He want me to respond? I know what it's like to feel like the outsider...to feel like everyone else knows everything about everyone else there except for me, to feel like I have to put on an act, to feel like I can't just be myself, to exist in a state of nervousness and fear.
Of all places where people should feel comfortable and loved, the church should be it. But as a member of the church, I don't feel like I do a very good job. I live in my own little world with my own friends and concerns, rarely noticing the hurting face of the person sitting across the aisle from me. Rarely noticing the scared individual who slips in on the back row and leaves as soon as the service ends to avoid the embarrassment of standing there alone with no one to talk with.
I know that feeling. I don't want anyone to feel that way. I must do something different!
Many of my memories of Blakely involved anticipation. I remember the anticipation of turning on the final road to my grandparent's house. I remember seeing the donkey on the corner where we turned, hearing our family dog bark as he knew he was almost back "home," and looking across the field towards my grandparents' house hoping to get a glimpse of my grandmother on the back porch awaiting our arrival. This was joyous anticipation. I couldn't wait to get there. I loved my grandparent's house. It was where my dad was born. I knew it would be full of wonderful smells of my grandmother's cooking. It felt like my second home. While my mom insisted that I always mind my manners, I didn't have to be on my best behavior there. I could just relax and be myself.
As we were driving down a street in town today, I was immediately taken back to a moment in time that held a different kind of anticipation. Nervous anticipation. In the back seat of my parent's car I was taken back to when I was about 8 or 9 years old. We were traveling down the same street, headed to my aunt's house. I was nervous. I knew everyone else coming to her house would be completely comfortable there. They lived together, saw one another all of the time, all of my cousins when to school together and had lots to talk about, they had the same friends. They thought nothing of just walking in the door. I, on the other hand, stood and knocked. I felt like I had to be on my best behavior, like I couldn't really be myself. Like I had to be the person they thought I was instead of the person I am. I remember having this feeling more strongly when my parents were dropping me off at some family member's house. If they stayed with me, I was okay. If I was by myself, it was a whole other story. I was fearful. Even now I don't understand why I was fearful. After all, these people were my family. They loved me.
My sister wasn't plagued with the same fears. She never wanted to stay at my grandmother's house. She wanted to be with my cousins. She thrived being with the rest of the family. She never has been one to be content just to sit still and she wasn't then either. I remember on several occasions going to my cousins' house to spend the night. I never wanted to be too far from her. It drove her crazy. But it made me feel more comfortable. It made it bearable. Again, I have no clue why I felt this way. My cousins are great, wonderful, welcoming people. They treated me just like what I was...a member of the family. But they were unfamiliar. I felt like I was the only unfamiliar one trapped in the midst of their world. I wanted to feel like I belonged, but I never did. And to be honest, to this day, I still feel the same way. I try not to, but nothing has changed. I stick close to my mom and dad. I am fine as long as they are there with me. Sad, I know, for a grown woman, but those feelings just will not go away.
I love my family. They are dear, dear people. But as I thought about this strange phenomenon in my life today, I wondered if that's how unchurched individuals feel in the midst of the church. Do they feel alone? Do they feel like they don't belong? Do they come to the doors of the church with nervous anticipation instead of joyful anticipation? Do they recognize the kindness of the people there but still feel like an outsider? Do they desperately long for someone to cling to, someone to feel safe around?
And what about me? Do I respond to that longing in the right way or do I overlook them? Do I just go about my business with my friends at my church, forgetting all along that it's not really my church anyway. It's God's church. How does He want me to respond? I know what it's like to feel like the outsider...to feel like everyone else knows everything about everyone else there except for me, to feel like I have to put on an act, to feel like I can't just be myself, to exist in a state of nervousness and fear.
Of all places where people should feel comfortable and loved, the church should be it. But as a member of the church, I don't feel like I do a very good job. I live in my own little world with my own friends and concerns, rarely noticing the hurting face of the person sitting across the aisle from me. Rarely noticing the scared individual who slips in on the back row and leaves as soon as the service ends to avoid the embarrassment of standing there alone with no one to talk with.
I know that feeling. I don't want anyone to feel that way. I must do something different!
Friday, January 01, 2010
2010: Don't Waste a Moment
Happy 2010! It's hard to believe another year has come and gone. I spent some time reflecting on 2009 this morning, looking back on what God has shown me and taught me through the year. And He's shown me a lot, mostly about submission. I have a feeling I'm going to be learning more about that in 2010 :)!
One of my new toys for 2010 is a new laptop. I spent some time today organizing my files and documents on my old laptop before moving them over to the new one. In doing so, I allowed myself to do something I probably shouldn't have done. I found a file from 2009, and I opened it and read it. This file contained letters to a person I care for deeply. The writing was good. It was complete, raw emotion. It was unbridled honesty. It was written in love. It was deeply personal but at the same time pertinent for many situations. I was astounded by the truth and wisdom found within these letters. It was obviously Godly wisdom and not of myself! But there was a sadness at the end of this journey down memory lane. The sadness came partly from the situation of love lost, but more so from opportunity lost. When I wrote those letters, I didn't feel like I could share those words with the intended recipient. I didn't feel the time was right. I didn't feel those words would be received well. I was afraid. These words have never gone anywhere past my eyes and the computer screen.
I wonder if they would have made a difference. Not in the short-term. I've made peace with that. But in the long-term. I wonder, if I had put my fears aside, if the words I wrote would have made a difference in the long-term, and by that I mean eternally. Would a life be different today? Would my life be different today? I would share them now, but that would just be weird and completely inappropriate considering the current situation. But it was definitely an opportunity lost.
But I did learn something from my reading. I'm going to do my best to live my life in 2010 in such as way as to not let opportunities like that slip by. I'm not going to be afraid. I'm not going to miss opportunities to share truth and unbridled honesty with others. And I'm going to do my best to do it in a loving and Godly manner. I'm going to take some instruction from my former boss: Say what you mean and mean what you say, but don't be mean saying it.
I'm going to make 2010 a year of taken opportunities and life lived abundantly.
One of my new toys for 2010 is a new laptop. I spent some time today organizing my files and documents on my old laptop before moving them over to the new one. In doing so, I allowed myself to do something I probably shouldn't have done. I found a file from 2009, and I opened it and read it. This file contained letters to a person I care for deeply. The writing was good. It was complete, raw emotion. It was unbridled honesty. It was written in love. It was deeply personal but at the same time pertinent for many situations. I was astounded by the truth and wisdom found within these letters. It was obviously Godly wisdom and not of myself! But there was a sadness at the end of this journey down memory lane. The sadness came partly from the situation of love lost, but more so from opportunity lost. When I wrote those letters, I didn't feel like I could share those words with the intended recipient. I didn't feel the time was right. I didn't feel those words would be received well. I was afraid. These words have never gone anywhere past my eyes and the computer screen.
I wonder if they would have made a difference. Not in the short-term. I've made peace with that. But in the long-term. I wonder, if I had put my fears aside, if the words I wrote would have made a difference in the long-term, and by that I mean eternally. Would a life be different today? Would my life be different today? I would share them now, but that would just be weird and completely inappropriate considering the current situation. But it was definitely an opportunity lost.
But I did learn something from my reading. I'm going to do my best to live my life in 2010 in such as way as to not let opportunities like that slip by. I'm not going to be afraid. I'm not going to miss opportunities to share truth and unbridled honesty with others. And I'm going to do my best to do it in a loving and Godly manner. I'm going to take some instruction from my former boss: Say what you mean and mean what you say, but don't be mean saying it.
I'm going to make 2010 a year of taken opportunities and life lived abundantly.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
World AIDS Day
Today is World AIDS Day. A day to remember those who've lost the battle with HIV/AIDS. A day to celebrate the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS. A day to recommit ourselves to supporting the fight against HIV/AIDS.
To commemorate the day, I stood proud with a group of community members in making a human, red Ribbon of Life. I stood side by side with a friend, an HIV health educator, and the mayor of our city. I stood side by side with people who support HIV prevention, education, and assistance in our community. I stood side by side with people who understand the seriousness of the AIDS epidemic. I also organized a program to educate my college students on how the treatment of HIV has changed over the years. We heard from a positive voice as well as a member of the medical community. Their message: HIV changes your life, and not for the better. You can live with HIV. You can live a long time with HIV thanks to advances in medical care. But it's not an easy life. It's a life filled with struggles, stigmas, discrimination, and questions. And if each of us would do our part, people living with HIV wouldn't have to experience these things!
A friend of mine who works as an HIV Prevention specialist said today that HIV/AIDS is not just a medical issue. It's a human rights issue. While we may look at the disease from a clean, western perspective, not everyone around the world has all of the resources we have. Everyone deserves access to prevention that works and treatment that works. Not everyone has that. I was overjoyed to see that the new president of South Africa announced today that all South African children with HIV will now be treated with ARV medicines. This is a tremendous change from the previous administrator who refused to believe the scientific facts about the disease, therefore putting the health of millions of people at risk.
But HIV/AIDS is not just a human rights issue. It's a spiritual issue. I dare say that most Christians, even active evangelicals, let this day pass without a thought of HIV/AIDS. I fear that many people choose the attitude that HIV/AIDS is a result of sin so why should the people of God support that? The simple reason: because Jesus loves HIV+ people. Jesus commanded us to love all people. He commanded us to care for the widows and orphans. 6000 children around the world lose one or both parents everyday because of HIV/AIDS. Women get the disease from their husbands who have multiple partners, a practice that is accepted in some areas of the world. They pass the disease to their children. In places like Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, India, South Africa, Haiti, treatment is not readily available or affordable. Luxuries like clean water and nutritional meals throughout the day to be able to handle the medicine are not available. We are called by our Savior to care for the dying, crying, the broken. We are called by our Savior to love our neighbors as ourselves. Though they may live halfway around the world, they are our neighbors. Many are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Did they get infected because of a sinful act? Maybe. But the last time I checked, there were no sinless people on this earth.
More than 2 million AIDS related deaths were reported globally in 2008. This disease is completely preventable! We must educate ourselves, our friends, our families, our coworkers. We must make wise decisions with our bodies. We must respond to this crisis as Christ would. Are you holding the stone or are you drawing in the sand? Are you willing to ask the tough questions? Are you willing to answer the tough questions? Are you willing to make the tough choices.
Life will go on after today. It doesn't have to go on with HIV, though!
To commemorate the day, I stood proud with a group of community members in making a human, red Ribbon of Life. I stood side by side with a friend, an HIV health educator, and the mayor of our city. I stood side by side with people who support HIV prevention, education, and assistance in our community. I stood side by side with people who understand the seriousness of the AIDS epidemic. I also organized a program to educate my college students on how the treatment of HIV has changed over the years. We heard from a positive voice as well as a member of the medical community. Their message: HIV changes your life, and not for the better. You can live with HIV. You can live a long time with HIV thanks to advances in medical care. But it's not an easy life. It's a life filled with struggles, stigmas, discrimination, and questions. And if each of us would do our part, people living with HIV wouldn't have to experience these things!
A friend of mine who works as an HIV Prevention specialist said today that HIV/AIDS is not just a medical issue. It's a human rights issue. While we may look at the disease from a clean, western perspective, not everyone around the world has all of the resources we have. Everyone deserves access to prevention that works and treatment that works. Not everyone has that. I was overjoyed to see that the new president of South Africa announced today that all South African children with HIV will now be treated with ARV medicines. This is a tremendous change from the previous administrator who refused to believe the scientific facts about the disease, therefore putting the health of millions of people at risk.
But HIV/AIDS is not just a human rights issue. It's a spiritual issue. I dare say that most Christians, even active evangelicals, let this day pass without a thought of HIV/AIDS. I fear that many people choose the attitude that HIV/AIDS is a result of sin so why should the people of God support that? The simple reason: because Jesus loves HIV+ people. Jesus commanded us to love all people. He commanded us to care for the widows and orphans. 6000 children around the world lose one or both parents everyday because of HIV/AIDS. Women get the disease from their husbands who have multiple partners, a practice that is accepted in some areas of the world. They pass the disease to their children. In places like Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, India, South Africa, Haiti, treatment is not readily available or affordable. Luxuries like clean water and nutritional meals throughout the day to be able to handle the medicine are not available. We are called by our Savior to care for the dying, crying, the broken. We are called by our Savior to love our neighbors as ourselves. Though they may live halfway around the world, they are our neighbors. Many are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Did they get infected because of a sinful act? Maybe. But the last time I checked, there were no sinless people on this earth.
More than 2 million AIDS related deaths were reported globally in 2008. This disease is completely preventable! We must educate ourselves, our friends, our families, our coworkers. We must make wise decisions with our bodies. We must respond to this crisis as Christ would. Are you holding the stone or are you drawing in the sand? Are you willing to ask the tough questions? Are you willing to answer the tough questions? Are you willing to make the tough choices.
Life will go on after today. It doesn't have to go on with HIV, though!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Shouts of Rejoicing
The psalmist opens and closes Psalm 97 with the same command: Rejoice in the Lord. Some modern translations use the word shout. And why are we told to rejoice? Because the Lord reigns. The Lord is King. That truly is a reason to rejoice, just knowing that our God and creator is in control, that He has all the power, and that He knows best! But if I’m really honest, I don’t do a very good job in rejoicing in the Lord. I don’t give God a shout out, if you will, very much. I’m quick to rejoice about other things in my life. Some things that get a shout:
· A letter that comes in the mail announcing a raise
· A game winning touchdown
· Finding $20 in your coat pocket at the beginning of the winter season
· An email announcing that offices will close early today
· An announcement that my budget is being more than doubled (that one even got a dance!)
· A rare phone call from a friend in China
· An unexpected gift
· A great ending to a TV show or movie
· Finding out a good meal is about to be served
· Finding a great deal at the store
The sad thing is all of these things are temporal. And when it comes down to it, after the moment passes, they aren’t very important or relevant. Why am I so willing to rejoice over the things that don’t matter and fail to rejoice in the one thing that does? Why is it so easy to be publicly and privately vocal about the petty things in life but it’s a struggle to publicly and privately rejoice before the Lord. Here’s a list of things that should get a shout in my life:
· Seeing a student, friend, or stranger accept Christ as Savior and Lord
· Discovering a new lesson in God’s word that is completely applicable to my current situation and struggles
· When God reveals a lesson in my circumstance that is undeniably from Him
· Having the opportunity and privilege of serving Him through my local church
· Having extra, unexpected time to spend in His word and just being with my King (instead of wasting it on stupid things)
· Having the opportunity to serve and encourage others
· Being placed in a situation where I can mentor someone in their relationship with God
· Seeing God’s power and beauty in His creation
· When God reveals Himself to me in a new song
Today, right now in this moment, I give God the shout out He deserves, not because of what He can give me or what He can do for me, but simply because of who He is! He is my King. I’m still discovering what that means, but the one thing I know is that He deserves my shout of rejoicing.
· A letter that comes in the mail announcing a raise
· A game winning touchdown
· Finding $20 in your coat pocket at the beginning of the winter season
· An email announcing that offices will close early today
· An announcement that my budget is being more than doubled (that one even got a dance!)
· A rare phone call from a friend in China
· An unexpected gift
· A great ending to a TV show or movie
· Finding out a good meal is about to be served
· Finding a great deal at the store
The sad thing is all of these things are temporal. And when it comes down to it, after the moment passes, they aren’t very important or relevant. Why am I so willing to rejoice over the things that don’t matter and fail to rejoice in the one thing that does? Why is it so easy to be publicly and privately vocal about the petty things in life but it’s a struggle to publicly and privately rejoice before the Lord. Here’s a list of things that should get a shout in my life:
· Seeing a student, friend, or stranger accept Christ as Savior and Lord
· Discovering a new lesson in God’s word that is completely applicable to my current situation and struggles
· When God reveals a lesson in my circumstance that is undeniably from Him
· Having the opportunity and privilege of serving Him through my local church
· Having extra, unexpected time to spend in His word and just being with my King (instead of wasting it on stupid things)
· Having the opportunity to serve and encourage others
· Being placed in a situation where I can mentor someone in their relationship with God
· Seeing God’s power and beauty in His creation
· When God reveals Himself to me in a new song
Today, right now in this moment, I give God the shout out He deserves, not because of what He can give me or what He can do for me, but simply because of who He is! He is my King. I’m still discovering what that means, but the one thing I know is that He deserves my shout of rejoicing.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Spiritual Development of the "Churched" Student
It's like I lost contact with a close friend for some time. It's like I lost an appendage and have been figuring out how to go on without it. It's also as if I went on a diet from something healthy, for example, I stopped eating any kind of fruit. And it's all because I haven't found myself here in a long time. I haven't blogged since August. Sure, I can list of all of the excuses running around in my brain, but I think the real reason is that I purposely took a break from exposing my self as a way to protect myself. I don't know what I was trying to protect myself from, but it ends here, today, right now! It's not that I haven't wanted to blog. I just haven't disciplined myself to do it, much like I don't discipline myself to work out on a regular basis, even though I know how critical it is to my overall health. But, like I said, I'm trying to get back on track. The sad thing is, though, I've missed out on tracking my spiritual journey the last few months. But, God has truly taught me so much. The good thing about taking this blogging break is that it resulted in me expressing myself through song writing, something I had not done in a long time! But I want both!!!!
In the early hours of this morning as sleep hasn't been an option, I've been contemplating a new spiritual development theory for college students, specifically for students who are "churched" youth who enter college for the first time. I have had countless conversations with my students that support this theory. I haven't finished developing it completely, so maybe I should call it a pattern and not a theory. I'm sure the scientific and psychological world would dismiss it has craziness, but I see it played out in the lives of my college students day after day.
I guess it really does coincide with some other developmental theories. Early college students are often in a stage of cognitive development where everything is black and white, the teacher has all of the answers, and they aren't really interested in learning. They just want to be told what they have to know for the test. It's not about learning something new or letting this new knowledge transform their lives. It's all about completing a checklist. And sadly, many Christians, but especially students at that age who are considered "churched," approach their spiritual lives that way as well. When I say "churched" I don't necessarily mean spiritually mature. I'm referring to those students who grew up in a Christian home, who attended church on a regular or semi-regular basis, who can give the Sunday School answers to spiritual questions but have little spiritual depth. It seems that their spiritual walk is all about the religion of it all. There's a spiritual checklist that they use to measure their spiritual health.
I pray before my meals...check
I go to church, well, sometimes...check
I don't cuss as much as other people...check
I pray to God in times of crisis...check
My friends know I'm a Christian, at least in name...check
I keep my Bible by my bedside, just in case I need it...check
I'm not having sex with my boyfriend/girlfriend...check
I might go to parties, but I don't drink...check
And for them, this is what the Christian life consists of, little more than a checklist of dos and don'ts. They are good people, or at least they are not that bad. And that's stage one.
Stage two begins when some catalyst thrusts them into a spiritual bubble. Some might say they are "on fire for Jesus." These students attend every Bible Study offered on campus, every night of the week. They decide to become closer to God by only listening to Christian music. They isolate themselves from anyone who doesn't want to participate in Christian things like they do. They absorb every spiritual word they receive but maintain that legalistic checklist, often leading to feelings of hopelessness and guilt because they start to see their own failures and begin to wonder if they'll ever measure up. They want to live their lives for God's purposes, but don't know quite how to mesh that with the world around them. They pick someone to be their beacon of truth and depend on that person's words rather than the Word of God. Sadly, if they never move out of Stage 2, they may fall away completely, taking a lot of other people down with them.
So what's the next stage? Relationship. It's coming to the realization or understanding that living the life God calls us to live is not about a spiritual checklist to see if you measure up. It's not about isolating oneself from the world around us and living in a spiritual bubble. It's not about storing up spiritual information and never doing anything with it other than maintaining a spiritual file. It's about a relationship with the Heavenly Father. It's understanding that we will never measure up outside of the grace of Jesus Christ. It's understanding that being good is not the answer, rather being in a relationship with God is. It's wanting to live your life in such a way as to honor God, to bring glory to His name. It's living out a counter reality within the world's reality. It's learning to live by the only standard that matters, God's. It's daily dying to self and selfish desires and making the desires of God your own. It's putting on the spiritual armor on a daily (or moment by moment) basis. It's realizing that the battle is not against flesh, but against evil. It's seeing that our relationship with God will transform our relationship with other people. If our relationship with God is healthy and growing, our perspective on evangelism is transformed into a relational approach. It's realizing how much God loves us and striving to love Him as He deserves. It's learning to be transparent before the One who knows all and understands us better than we understand ourselves. It's allowing God's grace to cover us.
My biggest struggle is figuring out how to help students move towards that relationship mentality. God has been setting this before me a great deal lately. And I'm just trying to figure it all out. But I know He is faithful, and on that promise I'm choosing to cling!
In the early hours of this morning as sleep hasn't been an option, I've been contemplating a new spiritual development theory for college students, specifically for students who are "churched" youth who enter college for the first time. I have had countless conversations with my students that support this theory. I haven't finished developing it completely, so maybe I should call it a pattern and not a theory. I'm sure the scientific and psychological world would dismiss it has craziness, but I see it played out in the lives of my college students day after day.
I guess it really does coincide with some other developmental theories. Early college students are often in a stage of cognitive development where everything is black and white, the teacher has all of the answers, and they aren't really interested in learning. They just want to be told what they have to know for the test. It's not about learning something new or letting this new knowledge transform their lives. It's all about completing a checklist. And sadly, many Christians, but especially students at that age who are considered "churched," approach their spiritual lives that way as well. When I say "churched" I don't necessarily mean spiritually mature. I'm referring to those students who grew up in a Christian home, who attended church on a regular or semi-regular basis, who can give the Sunday School answers to spiritual questions but have little spiritual depth. It seems that their spiritual walk is all about the religion of it all. There's a spiritual checklist that they use to measure their spiritual health.
I pray before my meals...check
I go to church, well, sometimes...check
I don't cuss as much as other people...check
I pray to God in times of crisis...check
My friends know I'm a Christian, at least in name...check
I keep my Bible by my bedside, just in case I need it...check
I'm not having sex with my boyfriend/girlfriend...check
I might go to parties, but I don't drink...check
And for them, this is what the Christian life consists of, little more than a checklist of dos and don'ts. They are good people, or at least they are not that bad. And that's stage one.
Stage two begins when some catalyst thrusts them into a spiritual bubble. Some might say they are "on fire for Jesus." These students attend every Bible Study offered on campus, every night of the week. They decide to become closer to God by only listening to Christian music. They isolate themselves from anyone who doesn't want to participate in Christian things like they do. They absorb every spiritual word they receive but maintain that legalistic checklist, often leading to feelings of hopelessness and guilt because they start to see their own failures and begin to wonder if they'll ever measure up. They want to live their lives for God's purposes, but don't know quite how to mesh that with the world around them. They pick someone to be their beacon of truth and depend on that person's words rather than the Word of God. Sadly, if they never move out of Stage 2, they may fall away completely, taking a lot of other people down with them.
So what's the next stage? Relationship. It's coming to the realization or understanding that living the life God calls us to live is not about a spiritual checklist to see if you measure up. It's not about isolating oneself from the world around us and living in a spiritual bubble. It's not about storing up spiritual information and never doing anything with it other than maintaining a spiritual file. It's about a relationship with the Heavenly Father. It's understanding that we will never measure up outside of the grace of Jesus Christ. It's understanding that being good is not the answer, rather being in a relationship with God is. It's wanting to live your life in such a way as to honor God, to bring glory to His name. It's living out a counter reality within the world's reality. It's learning to live by the only standard that matters, God's. It's daily dying to self and selfish desires and making the desires of God your own. It's putting on the spiritual armor on a daily (or moment by moment) basis. It's realizing that the battle is not against flesh, but against evil. It's seeing that our relationship with God will transform our relationship with other people. If our relationship with God is healthy and growing, our perspective on evangelism is transformed into a relational approach. It's realizing how much God loves us and striving to love Him as He deserves. It's learning to be transparent before the One who knows all and understands us better than we understand ourselves. It's allowing God's grace to cover us.
My biggest struggle is figuring out how to help students move towards that relationship mentality. God has been setting this before me a great deal lately. And I'm just trying to figure it all out. But I know He is faithful, and on that promise I'm choosing to cling!
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