"Faith, as Paul saw it, was a living, flaming thing leading to surrender and obedience to the commandments of Christ." A.W. Tozer
There are a group of students in Columbus, IN... that embody the very thing that Tozer said above. These students have not only demonstrate a faith that is living and flaming... but also a surrender and obedience to Christ's call on their lives. I was blessed to spend a period of time with a large group of those students over the weekend. It my favorite part... was that I was reminded exactly why I am so passionate about Youth Ministry. It is because of their passion for the Lord, for worship, for community and fellowship that spurs me in the right direction. It is because of their hearts for each other, and their ability to be vulnerable. It is because they make me laugh unlike any other group of people.
This weekend I saw the Kingdom of God advanced through a retreat for High School and Middle School students. Not only did I begin to form relationships with students, but I was able to learn from them... and hopefully they from me. I got the opportunity to have some one-on-one time with a few high school guys-- to talk about life, struggles, sins, hopes, desires, and prayers. I got to pray with them, for them, and over them in the midst of all of the beauty that is God's creation. I was convicted not only by my brother in Christ, Ryan, who spoke truth into myself and these students... but also by the realness of these kids' faith. They held nothing back, they were exactly who God has called them to be. I laughed... I cried... I spent time with God just praising Him, thanking Him, crying out to Him, and pleading with Him for answers to questions that I have been asking for a very long time... and as usual, people younger than me became answers to some of my questions.
Ephesians 5:1 says "Be imitators of God"... I, Brad Robertson, have mentioned this verse time and time again. This weekend, I saw it being strived for by kids that are anywhere from 7-12 years younger than I am. I heard them cry out to Christ, I saw them raise their arms in praise, and I heard them say things, some of them for the first time in their lives, things like: "I am royalty", "I am beautiful", "I am loved", "I am a child of God". The conversations that stemmed from them acknowledging those things... were mind blowing. The craziest thing about it-- is they were excited about God. I mean, don't get me wrong... I get excited about God too... but these kids were excited all weekend. They reminded me of what it's like to have "faith like a child"... and yet, in a lot of ways, some of them have a faith that's more mature than my own. That's a hard lesson to learn, especially in the midst of all the insanity that is "the real world".
I was absolutely wrecked. Wrecked by the grace, mercy, comfort and love that completely covers me because of God's desire to have a relationship with me. I am redeemed and saved through grace and sacrifice. There is nothing I can do to earn it.. but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of things I need to do to thank Him for it. My passion for ministry was rekindled to the fullest. The funny thing is, as I lay on my bunk Saturday night... I started to pray. I was praying for healing because my back had just been completely killing me, and in the middle of my prayer, I heard a student come up to the neighboring cabin singing "Into marvelous light I'm running, out of darkness, out of shame, by the Cross YOU are the Truth, YOU are the Life, YOU are the Way" and in that moment... I realized, the enemy could inflict all the pain he wanted.. he would not steal the joy I had found in spending time with our students. It may not be the right time to enter ministry as a full-time career just yet... but it doesn't mean I'm not called to serve God by investing in these students, or that I won't learn more about God by these students investing in me.
I am truly blessed.
Grace and Peace
-Diesel
No comments:
Post a Comment