Life as we know it

Ah, school is back in session! Yes, believe it or not, I am so excited to start this second semester of my sophomore year. The past couple of weeks have been rather stressful, so it's nice to have some structure and schedule back in my life. Well, my childhood best friend (AKA my brother) moved out Saturday to attend university a couple of hours away. I'm gonna miss that kid. On a brighter note, I did get that job-- I am now the happy little cashier in the cafeteria. I get to sit down and study between customers while the other kids stand up and fix food. I admit I haven't felt guilty yet. Shame on me. But the Honors weekend retreat went very well. I was able to be a leader and mentor some freshmen girls who were Christians but still a little timid about it fitting into this whole college thing. The Mexico report also went quite well, I think. Here's a brief summary of my comments:
In Jeremiah 29:11, we are told this: “for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans of good and not of evil, plans to give you a future and a hope.” So in this verse we see that God does have great plans for our lives as Christians. But what must we do to live according to this plan? If we read further in this chapter of Jeremiah, we see this: “you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart”.
Aha! That’s it! We must seek for Him with all of our heart. But you may ask how exactly do we go about this? Well, I’m glad you asked, because I have my flashlight to illustrate. You see, my life and your life is like this flashlight. It has all the potential to be the light of the world that we as Christians are called to be. But it’s not working! It’s not broken, but it only has one battery. This first battery represents our life after we are saved….we are Christians and we are forgiven and we will go to heaven once we die, but our life is not fully lived for Christ. But that’s not so bad, all I have to do is put in the second battery, which is the power of Christ in our lives. Yet I cannot…my flashlight is full of rags! You see, we have all these tiny little sins in our lives…these decent little things that we are not willing to give up yet they hinder our walk with Christ and do not allow His purposes to be accomplished through us. Could there be pride? Or anger? Or ungratefulness? Selfishness? Perhaps you are unwilling to spend time with God in prayer or quiet time. Or maybe you don’t love and respect others in the way you should. I don’t know all the little rags in your flashlight, but know that I’ve got them too. We must surrender all of these in each choice we make. Then we will truly be the light of the world.
I believe that we as Americans have no excuse not to be the light of the world. Just look at how much we have been given. Even if we feel like we don’t have much, take a quick look at the rest of the world. We have air conditioning, we don‘t live in mud huts, we have more than one set of clothes, we don’t have to take our laundry down to the river wash it. Look at your clothes, your houses, your cars…everything you could need! And not just the material blessings, you have a family at home and a church family here that does love you as imperfect as we all are. Most of us have been blessed with parents who love us and will make sacrifices to get us what we need…to buy us cars and clothes and get us through college. We simply do not realize how much we have until we go to a place like Mexico and see for ourselves how little a person can live on. We are indeed blessed beyond measure. Luke 12:48 says, “to whom much is given, much is required.” Much then, is required of us. That verse is a constant challenge and reminder to me, because I certainly have been given much. A friend shared with me the other day that God did not put us in this place of blessing for our comfort, He put us here for His glory. Because of where he has placed us, we have the resources, the talent, and the training to go to places like Mexico and spread his glory to all people and make disciples of all nations.
But my challenge to you all is not simply to ask you to pray, support, and even accompany our church in world missions. It’s easy to get excited about going to far-off places…I certainly can’t wait to head off somewhere new and share about Christ! It’s easy. The challenge I want to give you is to ask you to be the light of YOUR world….right here, right now. Mordecai once told Esther, “Who knows that you may have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esth. 4:12. We have been given all of God’s blessings yes to share with the world, but also for THIS time, for THIS place. This is a challenge to me as well, because I do feel a burden on my heart for world missions, yet God has showed me this: how can we expect to make an impact on the foreign mission field unless we first make a difference right where we are? So yes, go on mission trips, they will open your eyes and hearts. Support those who go if you are not able to go, you will be a blessing to them. But let the mission start here, in our hearts, in our church, in our city, in our world. Here in your work, school, home, and everywhere you go, take heaven’s light into this world.
Ok, so maybe not so brief, but I hope it does challenge someone. Maybe there will be more challenges and "sermons" (as my sister calls them) to come.