(photo compliments of Holland)
I've had the opportunity recently to share a portion of my story with various youth groups in my community. Perhaps one invitation in particular summed up the theme..."Can you share your Jesus adventures with the kiddos?" Jesus adventures...hmmm...it resonated - because that's what they are you know. Far and away the most exciting and purposeful chapters written in my life...were penned by Him.
But I realize as I write those words, they simply are not true for everyone...and I'm not talking about those who are living apart from Christ...but rather those who are trying to 'do the Christian life' and are quite frankly...bored...or worse yet...defeated.
It makes me ask...why?
I recently finished Perspectives which is a 15-week class with 15 different missional instructors...essentially helping participants understand what is God's purpose in it all...and therefore what is our individual purpose within that larger context. People say it will ruin you for the ordinary (if Jesus hasn't already done that). Offered in over 200 locations throughout the U.S. and more around the globe - I'd encourage you to check it out!
One of our instructors was Brad Buser. Brad has an energetic testimony that takes him from being a very talented, pot-smoking-California-surfer to a dedicated missionary, giving 20 years of his life making disciples among a previously unreached people group in Papua New Guinea. But this detail alone isn't actually the most impressive part of his testimony, the part that struck me...was the youth pastor who influenced the radical transformation. Brad called him Pastor Von...and he didn't describe him as anything particularly flashy or attractive...or even relevant or cool. Instead, Brad described him by the way he unashamedly challenged his students...to become disciples of Christ and servants of His Kingdom. I smile as Brad's words echo in my memory..."We don't need to raise any more nice Christian kids, we need servants of the Lord." According to Brad's testimony, from 1977-1981, over thirty young people were commissioned as missionaries from Von's church. Brad was one of those students.
Back to the why...
It seems to me that we tend to preach far more on cleaning people up than we do introducing them to the One who does the clean up. And I get it...in the Christian community, sin makes us nervous...and so we do everything we can to strive for righteousness and try to encourage (just short of force) that righteousness onto our youth. We're so scared of them falling into the ways of the world that we preach to convict...to keep them on the straight and narrow. Now please hear me when I say...sometimes we need to hear the hard truth from the pulpit...but I want to take a slightly different spin...what if we trusted the Holy Spirit to do the conviction...and therefore we spent far more time talking about Jesus?
People say I had a radical conversion but in full disclosure, my sinful lifestyle didn't fall off me overnight. It was a process...and in that process I kept my eyes on Him...not my sin. And when you're striving for His purposes in your life...your sin tends to pale in comparison...until it seems rather absurd that you'd choose sin...over Him.
Before I began sharing my story, I glanced around the room at the young eyes looking back at me...and I saw them questioning my relevance. I opened up with a question..."Who has ever been really bored with the Christian life?"
Nearly every honest hand went up...
Yeah...I thought so.
Let's move away from boring.
You see...I believe Jesus' purposes run much deeper than giving us a golden ticket to heaven...I believe his life, death and resurrection were necessary to reconcile our hearts to the Father...and only covered by His blood will we stand righteous before The King. But I also believe...while on this earth...He has divine purposes designed for me...designed for you. And those purposes may be described as many things...the least of which is...boring. There is far too much darkness in this world...not to penetrate it with the Light. And it's in those places where our torches shall burn (both locally and globally)...that we will find the greatest Jesus adventures. And somewhere amid those adventures...from a place of truly being used by Him...we realize we are serving and do I daresay loving a holy God...and so we delight to respond...with righteousness.
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
...and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. Philippians 3:9
Interest piqued? I'd love to share at your youth group or across the table (with a cup of coffee in hand of course). I have a passion for mentoring young girls in the Lord and awaking the fire within us all to serve passionately in His Kingdom. Would love to hear from you!
