Ephesians 5:1-2 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Did ya'll forget I had a blog?? Yeah, me too!! It has been a longgg time since I've logged on and written an entry. For starters, Junior year of college has been crazy, in a good way and as you all know, it has only gotten more crazy recently. I packed up my sweet apartment last weekend without having the chance to say bye to friends, professors, and coworkers. It has been a season of adjusting and change for sure, but I am thankful for the opportunity to see God's hand at work in the world. He is giving us the chance to rest and to rely on him, how beautiful is that? Besides the fact that life is crazy, I have honestly been questioning a lot in terms of my faith and haven't felt inspired to write anything in a long time. I stepped down from my position as bible study leader in the campus ministry I'm involved in and have really taken a step back to evaluate what I believe. These moments in life are so crucial to the Christian faith, almost necessary. If we keep going on in life not questioning what we believe every now and then, I would argue we're not doing something right. It has been really eye opening to listen to a speaker and not automatically assuming I believe everything they're saying, but to really listen and question whether that's what I believe or not. Jesus has been moving in my soul and helping me discover more about him in unexpected ways. I never thought he would put me in a leadership role only to take me out of it a semester later, but I have learned so much about faith and my relationship with him. Christian culture, for my generation in particular, fills our minds with so many things. It tells us we have to reach unbeatable standards to be a Christian in todays world. While some of these things are good and we should aim to do them, God doesn't tell us they're necessary in order to love him and more importantly, to be loved by him. Dressing cute and posting cute christian things on Instagram is fun in all, but it's not our ticket into Heaven. If you find yourself just agreeing with people or expectations just because they're associated with a Christian brand, person, or organization, I would encourage you to reevaluate your relationship with Christ. Your relationship with Christ is your own and no one else's. The world tries to fill our minds with so much and at times it is overwhelming. It becomes easy to forget what we believe or to get lost in the unreasonable expectations society sets for us. We can confuse these expectations for Gods expectations. Last semester I realized that's what I was doing. For two years I listened to the worlds expectations, I agreed with things people told me even if they were wrong, I became more separated from Christ when I thought I was getting closer. I was creating a worldly relationship with him and not an eternal one. I wasn't getting to know him personally. I was letting other people and things tell me what my relationship with him was like. It can be so easy to do. It felt isolating. I felt like it was wrong to question sermons or speeches that I listening to. It felt wrong to disagree with people in the same ministry as me and those people made me feel like it was. In my heart, I knew that it wasn't wrong. I knew for months that God was working in me and leading me to these moment. The feelings I was having weren't wrong, they were from the Lord, and I have never felt that more strongly. He wanted me to separate myself from people who were trying to play His role. He wanted me to focus on Him. And so I did, and so I have. I know my relationship with Christ is my own. I know it is genuine and it is real. It is mine and His and that's the way He intended it to be. Friends if you are struggling with earthly noise telling you how to love Jesus, point back to Him. Be in his word and look for his voice. With so much distraction in the world it is easy to let someone else tell you what your relationship with Christ looks like, when all that matters is what Christ wants it to look like. Quarantine is a perfect opportunity to put Christ at the center of your life. Open your bible, pray and ask what He wants your relationship to be like, be in community with Christ. One of the biggest blessing as a Christian is our ability to talk to God and have a relationship with Him, and not only a relationship, but a personal one. Each of ours should look different. While we serve the same God, we haven't all been through the exact same trials, joys, fears, etc. so why would our relationships with Him all look the same? He's gifted each of us with unique talents and opportunities to know him better through his people. Get to know what your talents are and seek where his placing these opportunities for you. Talk to Him. Get to know him as your God. As your friend. Not any one else's. if we keep relying on other people to tell us what our relationship with Christ is like, we will miss out on the amazing opportunity to know him as our own. Please don't take this as me saying not to attend church or quite leading a bible study, but rather to do this things with the right intentions. Go to church to learn and to ask your pastor questions. Go to bible study to be in community with others and to learn what their relationships with Christ are like. We can learn from each other without imitating one other. Be imitators of Christ, friends, in whatever way he has called you to be.
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