I
realize that this blog has withered away, and I’m not exactly sure why. I guess
my faith has had some major testing this year and I wasn't really in place
where I felt led to share. So, my apologies for not tending to it. Lately I've been thinking about living out my faith (feels like I’m constantly wrestling
with that), and how that should look in my life. Furthermore, how should we as
the living Body of Christ be living? For me, conforming is my biggest stumbling
block. My friends swear, so I swear. My friends make sex jokes, so I make sex
jokes. My friends make racist comments, so I make racist comments. But when I come
home at the end of the day and it’s just me and God, I feel horrible for
disobeying Him. Essentially, what I've said when I walk out the door is, "All
right God, you stay at here. I’ll see you when I get home." Here’s the thing:
When I made a commitment to follow Jesus, it didn't mean just loving Him and
talking to Him every night. I committed to following Jesus WHEREVER He wanted
me to go, doing WHATEVER He told me to do WHENEVER he told me to do it. Jesus
invited us to follow Him whatever, whenever, wherever. And if you call yourself
a Christian, then you committed to that as well.
The saying "everything in
moderation" doesn’t apply to following Jesus. He wants all of you all the time.
To be honest that’s a bit scary, but what’s even scarier is thinking of going
through life without Him. So, when Jesus points to my group of close friends
and He says, "Will you follow me there?" my answer is yes. That is, until I get
to school and I'm actually in the situation. Because when I'm in that situation,
I try to fix it myself. I try so hard not to gossip and swear and make inappropriate
jokes. But no matter how hard I try, I never seem to be strong enough to deny
myself and say yes to Jesus. Here's what I've forgotten: Jesus never says we
have to be strong enough. In fact, he says just the opposite, "But he said to me, "My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more
gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me….For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12: 9,10). It's
not about TRYING every day. It's about DYING (ultimate weakness) every day.
Dying
constitutes taking up your cross- arguably the most humiliating and grueling way
to die. It means that when you wake up in the morning, you tell Jesus "Here is
my day, take it and make it yours." It means abandoning all your personal
desires for that day- dying to yourself - and letting Jesus take the wheel
(also the name of a mediocre Carrie Underwood song). Paul even says in 1 Corinthians 15:31, "…I die daily." This doesn’t mean that you can’t do your
homework and carry out certain responsibilities. But if God asks you not to do
those things, deny yourself and obey Him. Maybe it means not flirting with the guy
or girl who sits next to you in math because you know he won’t be good for you.
Maybe it means that when God tells you to talk to your atheist best friend
about Jesus, you do it even though it’s extremely uncomfortable. Instead of
watching TV, spend time with God or build relationships with your family. In
Beth Moore's case, God
told her to brush a man's hair (The video is amazing!).
Yes,
following God is scary. Throwing yourself out there and being vulnerable to His
will. It is the most difficult feat anyone will ever attempt, and only Jesus
has ever done it perfectly. However everyone I know who follows hard after God
has found deep fulfillment in it. Losing your life to gain it is something we
can never fully understand here on earth. But one day, when we all stand before
the Throne of God, we will. Life is a vapor- a blink of an eye. Don't waste it.
One
last thing. My brother Hugo's close friend Nathan recently went into a coma. He
has a very low blood platelet count, and he’s having a blood transfusion soon.
If he loses any more blood, it's likely that he'll die. Hugo says that he's a really great kid
and he asked me to pray for him. In return, I'm asking you all. Please pray for
his healing in the name of Jesus and that God would be with Nathan's family in
this difficult time. I really appreciate it.
May God
bless you and keep you this week. Let Jesus invade your life.
-
Mya Grace
