Running till He has to breathe breath into us.
Wake up.
Stand up and worship with an abandon that cannot be pretended.
Don't leave behind your pain when you meet with the Body of Christ to praise His Name.
Acknowledge the pain and bring it to the foot of the cross, then bask in the peace that cannot be understood.
I have such a dissatisfaction with the complacency that I witness on my campus. I would love to point out the exceptions and talk about how much they encourage me, but the reality is that I feel spiritually drained at Northwestern for the majority of my time there. Yes, there are passionate Jesus followers there. But where is the giddy excitement about this Man we call Christ? I cannot find it nine times out of ten.
All I typically hear is talk about loving my neighbor. And how is this done? By accepting all people as they are; never judging, even if it is to judge a tree by its fruit. If I were to make a statement that was not 100% in favor of social justice, women's rights, homosexuality, equality of race, etc., arrows of disdain would zip through the air and pierce my lips. And those arrow heads are always engulfed in flames.
Questions are not only encouraged; they are insisted upon. If I am confident that I believe a certain thing about God, the world, or my own spiritual journey, I am told that I have not thought about it enough, that I am too closed-minded. I may live in a conservative area of the state, but if I were to agree on any level with the older residents of Orange City, then clearly I have not spent enough time actually investigating what my beliefs are. Because all Red Raiders know that you cannot be a liberal conservative. *dodges more arrows*
What if I love my neighbor by quietly listening to their cries of pain and simply choosing not to leave them when everyone else does? What if I think that the best way to conquer racism is to throw the jerks who practice it into service projects that lead them to quality time with the amazing people who look different than they do? What if I am a woman who believes that equality and justice cannot always be the same thing? What if I live in fear that my lack of passion to end sex trafficking will be labeled as apathy?
What if all of these things are true?
Does that change how I make a mark on Northwestern College? I believe that the Class of 2016 has been called to trample stereotypes and build a new foundation for future Red Raiders. I have seen the Class of 2017 and I have confidence that they will help carry out this calling. Perhaps my RED411 videos will pave the way for me to find ways to encourage others on campus to be more intentional.
I said before that I am not satisfied with the complacency I have seen on campus. I stand in chapel and P&W six times a week, but rarely do I see very many Jesus lovers truly getting excited about the God we claim to follow. All we talk about is how to love people.
GUYS. The Creator of the Universe has been tugging on our hands, whispering in a thunderous voice to run after Him. And when I say "run," I mean RUN till our breath is labored. He is the very air we breathe. He will breathe that breath right back into our lungs. He will sustain our souls. But we have to run.
Why is it so hard to scramble after Him? Every time I try to run without preparation when I am excited, I nearly fall flat on my face. I mean, Jesus doesn't walk that fast. He just has longer strides than I typically choose to take. In the all-too-rare times that I am eager to trip along behind Jesus, I have found that He never fails to reach back and take my hand so that I can catch up with Him.
When people tell me that we should share Jesus by simply living as He did, a large part of me silently aches in protest. How can I refrain from saying, "Jesus is totally the greatest Guy to ever exist. Here's why." A good number of Psalms shout out that we have to proclaim the glory of God because if we don't, the rocks will instead. That's crazy. It's also amazing.
If you don't live as Jesus lived, you are spouting false testimony. But if you don't speak true testimony, then the way that you live could easily be interpreted as "Wow, what a nice kid. The end."
Is this entire blog a rambling mess? Maybe. Did I rant too much at once? Quite possibly. Did all of this stem from the All Sons and Daughters Night of Worship and the fact that I am going back to school tomorrow? Absolutely.
God loves me, and God is enough.
Period.
Stand up and worship with an abandon that cannot be pretended.
Don't leave behind your pain when you meet with the Body of Christ to praise His Name.
Acknowledge the pain and bring it to the foot of the cross, then bask in the peace that cannot be understood.
I have such a dissatisfaction with the complacency that I witness on my campus. I would love to point out the exceptions and talk about how much they encourage me, but the reality is that I feel spiritually drained at Northwestern for the majority of my time there. Yes, there are passionate Jesus followers there. But where is the giddy excitement about this Man we call Christ? I cannot find it nine times out of ten.
All I typically hear is talk about loving my neighbor. And how is this done? By accepting all people as they are; never judging, even if it is to judge a tree by its fruit. If I were to make a statement that was not 100% in favor of social justice, women's rights, homosexuality, equality of race, etc., arrows of disdain would zip through the air and pierce my lips. And those arrow heads are always engulfed in flames.
Questions are not only encouraged; they are insisted upon. If I am confident that I believe a certain thing about God, the world, or my own spiritual journey, I am told that I have not thought about it enough, that I am too closed-minded. I may live in a conservative area of the state, but if I were to agree on any level with the older residents of Orange City, then clearly I have not spent enough time actually investigating what my beliefs are. Because all Red Raiders know that you cannot be a liberal conservative. *dodges more arrows*
What if I love my neighbor by quietly listening to their cries of pain and simply choosing not to leave them when everyone else does? What if I think that the best way to conquer racism is to throw the jerks who practice it into service projects that lead them to quality time with the amazing people who look different than they do? What if I am a woman who believes that equality and justice cannot always be the same thing? What if I live in fear that my lack of passion to end sex trafficking will be labeled as apathy?
What if all of these things are true?
Does that change how I make a mark on Northwestern College? I believe that the Class of 2016 has been called to trample stereotypes and build a new foundation for future Red Raiders. I have seen the Class of 2017 and I have confidence that they will help carry out this calling. Perhaps my RED411 videos will pave the way for me to find ways to encourage others on campus to be more intentional.
I said before that I am not satisfied with the complacency I have seen on campus. I stand in chapel and P&W six times a week, but rarely do I see very many Jesus lovers truly getting excited about the God we claim to follow. All we talk about is how to love people.
GUYS. The Creator of the Universe has been tugging on our hands, whispering in a thunderous voice to run after Him. And when I say "run," I mean RUN till our breath is labored. He is the very air we breathe. He will breathe that breath right back into our lungs. He will sustain our souls. But we have to run.
Why is it so hard to scramble after Him? Every time I try to run without preparation when I am excited, I nearly fall flat on my face. I mean, Jesus doesn't walk that fast. He just has longer strides than I typically choose to take. In the all-too-rare times that I am eager to trip along behind Jesus, I have found that He never fails to reach back and take my hand so that I can catch up with Him.
When people tell me that we should share Jesus by simply living as He did, a large part of me silently aches in protest. How can I refrain from saying, "Jesus is totally the greatest Guy to ever exist. Here's why." A good number of Psalms shout out that we have to proclaim the glory of God because if we don't, the rocks will instead. That's crazy. It's also amazing.
If you don't live as Jesus lived, you are spouting false testimony. But if you don't speak true testimony, then the way that you live could easily be interpreted as "Wow, what a nice kid. The end."
Is this entire blog a rambling mess? Maybe. Did I rant too much at once? Quite possibly. Did all of this stem from the All Sons and Daughters Night of Worship and the fact that I am going back to school tomorrow? Absolutely.
God loves me, and God is enough.
Period.
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