During the past month, I have felt that sitting at the same
lunch table every day with the same three girls isn’t fulfilling my goals for
the Jesus Mission. Although I love sitting and talking to my friends, usually
the lunch time discussions at school aren’t very interactive or glorifying to
God. My thought was, “am I glorifying God by where I am, sitting with these
girls and not being part of a conversation that doesn’t encourage me to witness
to others?” Through this, I realized that I hadn’t been doing anything to
encourage others to follow Christ because I was comfortable in my environment.
As a
Christian, you cannot live a life that is unnoticed. “Your faith should be
public, not private,” said Nathan Bramsen, leader of Youth Conference at Camp
Hope (http://www.camphopega.org/).
Christians should be so in love and ultimately drowned in God’s love that they
cannot contain the excitement of his love to us, which will result in a life
that is shining Christ through all things. I realized that my light was not
shining where I was at lunch because I was so comfortable with these girls that
I wasn’t pushing myself and putting myself out of my comfort zone to encourage
others. Because of this, my friends and I moved to a different table with a lot
of different people during lunch, so that I would be out of my comfort zone and
more willing to be a witness to other people.
Even
though many people at school say they believe in God and are Christians, it is
obvious by looking at the choices they make and what they invest in as to who
they really are. My goal these next few months is to witness more to others and
not be afraid to share my faith with others, even if they say they are already
a Christian.
Kate, I must say I am encouraged to see the steps you are taking in challenging yourself to make Christ a priority in all that you do! These are steps I never would have considered at your age and would have never had the fortitude to do so even if I did. I look forward to your next post and pray God will keep your light strong and shining for His glory
ReplyDeleteKate, I do not know what I would do and where I would be if I had never met people like you. It has been hard for me (especially because I am Catholic) to feel like I can live my life thorough God in a world so ruled by pessimistic views and choices. But by watching you, I can feel myself becoming more and more steadfast in my faith everyday. I have also been reading a trilogy entitled "The Daughters of Boston" that I picked up at the library (the cover art grabbed my attention - so much for "don't judge a book by its cover"). I never knew that books could change my life, ESPECIALLY my spiritual life, but they have very, very quickly. I encourage you to check them out. Not only are they a good read, but they make you believe that you can live your life through God and for God. But more than that, they make you WANT to live your life through and for God.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the encouragement Cassidy! It's really ironic that you are reading the "Daughters of Boston" because I just finished the series and loved them! It really impacted my faith and how I viewed living my life for Christ. The characters in the book have helped me see examples of living my life for Christ and have encouraged me to strengthen my faith.
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