Drowning my thoughts, my heart's desires blind my vision and dampens my passion for Christ. The selfish dreams take over and I'm left to listen to the melodies of my own making in place of the cries of God's children.
It can be painfully easy.
Think of how many times you count your blessings and thank God for what He has given you. Skating over the surface of my life, I come face to face with a clear realization that God has blessed me beyond my comprehension...but those blessings are meant to be used for others.
He's blessed me relationally.
My relationship with God has become the central blessing in my life where all other blessings spring from.
My relationships with friends have inspired, encouraged, supported, and uplifted me in more ways than I can explain in words.
My family has always been my biggest supporter since the day I came into this world through everything in my life.
He's blessed me with health.
I am a happy, healthy 18 year old. What more could I possibly ask for? Without health, life would be extremely challenging and people deal with debilitating diseases, cancer, and life threatening illness every single day.
He's blessed me educationally
I go to an amazing school where I can learn to be a better person in this world and equip myself to change it.
He's blessed me physically; meeting my needs for shelter, food, and water.
Access to food whenever I want, a warm bed, water. My basic needs are met and then some and yet I take these things for granted and expect them on a daily basis.
Listening to a sermon on the life of Mary, my pastor, Steve Gillen, delved into the traits of a blessed life by the standards of the world versus by God. Mary was not given things our society would deem valuable.
Mary was a woman of God called to lay down her comforts and her dreams for Jesus at the throne of God. Her courageous submission to God's will demonstrates her servant attitude and recognition of the fact that the blessings given to her by God were meant to be shared with others and not kept to herself.
[Luke 1:38 says, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”]
I could avert my eyes away from the hurting in fear and hold in the love God has instilled in me to keep to myself and be safe.. My eyes could remain fixed on my own reflection in the mirror instead of looking into the crying eyes frantically looking for someone to notice, to care, to love them. I choose a different path for my life.
Instead of waiting for someone else to do something this Christmas, I wanted to make a difference for someone even if it's simply giving away a lunch and some water.
"Stopped at a red light, looked out my window, I saw a cardboard sign, said “Help this homeless widow” and just above that sign was the face of a human. I thought to myself, “God, what have I been doing?”... -Matthew West
So many times, we pass by.
We pretend not to see, not to feel the presence of another person's broken heart crushed on the side of our paths. A living, breathing, thinking human being made in the image of God who needs someone to see them, but we become desensitized after seeing it so many times or better yet, we're so focused on ourselves we ignore it.
I have begun praying this year for God to give me His eyes so that I can see the pain I unknowingly skim over in my daily life. I can't afford to miss something that important anymore.
It can be so easy to go to church and praise Him for how amazing He has been in my own life. We can sing those amazing songs in honor of God but as we sing, millions are in need.
Physically, emotionally, spiritually, they are in need.
It is our duty to fight the current of a selfish society to meet those needs.
People on your campuses, in cities like Chicago, in your neighborhood, in your church, in homeless shelters, on the side of the road...these people need you to care.
God is calling you to care because He cares and wants people to know how deeply He loves each one of us.
To experience the life we are meant for, we need to step outside of ourselves.
We need to reshape our vision for this world to fit the lens of Heaven and to grow into the brand of people that can muster the courage to change it instead of sitting on the sidelines.
"When I awake that day in glory, Your love will light the city streets and we won’t need our songs of longing. We’ll be a symphony of peace, Brothers and sisters, we’ll be free, Thank God Almighty, we’ll be free..."
-Manifesto
Close your eyes and imagine,
a world where everyone is fed, peace reigns, and violence ceases. This is a glimpse of God's Kingdom that is coming.
Are you someone fighting to make this a reality or have you accepted that things will always remain this way for people who are in pain?
Why are you waiting even another moment when we have the power God has given us to touch others?
[2 Timothy 1:7]
"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline."
And so this is a thank you from the bottom of my heart for everyone who came out last night and today. You fed a lot of people today and beyond that, you showed them they were noticed and that someone cared about them even if indirectly.
Thank You,
{ Matthew 25:40 }
[Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.]
Thank you to everyone who came last night to my dad's house to pack lunches and bring supplies!! You guys helped make everything such a success and I am grateful for everything every single one of you did to make this happen. We went through 7 + loaves of bread, 5 jars of peanut butter, 3 + jars of jelly, and a heck of a lot of plastic bags!
Nikolai, Cristine, and your family,
Thank you so much for your passionate spirit and love for God today. You shined God's love in the way you served today. You all have so much joy and it's contagious. I am truly appreciative of all you and your family did today. David, thank you for being the leader for our group, leading prayer, and taking charge. It's been awesome seeing you grow and step out in your faith this year.
Hannah,
Thank you for coming out from Naperville to serve with me. It means so much to me that I got to share it with you and I have loved getting to know you this year at Hope!! Pump that plastic!
Megan & Amelia,
Thank you so much for coming! I really appreciate that you guys decided to come and helped out so much. It was awesome to see God at work in our group and when Amelia and David helped the elderly lady up the stairs...so cool :)
Justina, Raya, and Stephney,
Thank you so much for taking a day out of your break to serve! Thank you Stephney for bringing the cookies and the pins-those were great additions to the lunches :). You three did such a great job serving and it was awesome to see you guys helping out people in need.
I have learned an important lesson in the past 6 months.
Praising God with words is amazing but what about backing up those words with action taken by faith? This world is wounded and singing and talking about the pain will not bring darkness closer to the light.
"We keep singing
But just a song won't heal
The bleeding wound
Church wake up
We’re sleeping in an empty tomb..."
May we wake up to the cries of a world in need of our love and also knowledge of God's love .
God is alive in us if we allow faith in Him to shine in our actions. Let us step into the streets to meet those in need with eyes fixed on their needs, extending ourselves to be His loving hands and feet to those in need through the actions we take.
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