who are walking in the darkness,
You are calling us to
{ lead them back to You }"
You pass them by,
walk right past them every single day.
In your classes, in the lunchroom, in your dorm, in your walk to chapel, in your neighborhood.
Children of God.
By the grace of God, we are His children and can look to Him our Father in Heaven.
We are given the privilege of being called His own.
"Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God." John 1:12-13
Have you ever stopped to realize that is who we are surrounded with?
That is who we are and people deserve to know they belong as well.
After all, isn't that what people are seeking?
To feel like they belong somewhere in their lives.
It is up to us as Christians to remind people that is who they are and to remind them of their spot in God's heart.
Do we treat everybody around us like children of God?
I know I want to.
What about the people that are different?
The ones we don't agree with, the ones that annoy us, the ones that offend us, the ones who make choices that don't line up with our own?
If you are someone who knows Christ then you know.
You've felt Him and His healing.
You know His peace in the storms of your life.
You've seen His hand working in your life.
You've experienced the fullness of joy in Christ.
As I look back on the last six months of my life, I have had a 180 degree turn around.
I was never somebody who stumbled into partying, drugs, or hookups but I had my own sins.
Obsessed with perfectionism, perfect grades, searching for attention, reaching for acceptance from guys.
Never satisfied with God alone because I never looked to Him for fulfillment, I filled myself with empty things, surfacey relationships, and contentment based on my appearance.
I don't want that for you.
I want more for you and I know that God furiously desires more for your life.
Right here and right now, I have never felt such complete joy and fulfillment than I feel at this very moment. He has truly helped me to know the height and depth of Phillipians 2:2.
Phillipians 2:2 says
"...make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose."
Renewed, transformed, fulfilled, joyful. Just empty words compared to the ultimate Treasure that my heart has embraced this year.
God has done more in my life in the past four months than He has ever done before as I've grown with Him and listened to His will. Revealing His use for me here at Hope and pointing me to action every single day to work for His kingdom. I can finally see my life with clarity.
The thing that strikes me most is that my happiness has not stemmed from materialistic things, having a boyfriend, or having a size zero model body. For so long, I thought that type of thing would bring me happiness.
My happiness for the first time is found completely and solely in Christ.
My confidence has become rooted in my mission for Christ and not in selfish living.
My eyes have begun to see those who many have simply skimmed over.
I have seen you.
You may even be reading this right now.
Hiding the pain beneath a hood or a hat. Caking on the makeup to cover the scars of your past. Going to parties to fill the burning hole in your soul for love. Clinging to social groups to feel a sense of acceptance and identity. Handing pieces of your heart away to anybody who will accept you even if just for a night.
I've seen it all.
My question is this:
Don't you know?
Can't you see how deeply you are loved and pursued by God?
Don't you know that God laid down His life so that we could have life so much better than this?
No.
The answer to this is that a large majority of this world does not know. People on Hope's campus, in our families, our high school friend groups, and walking across our paths have yet to see Christ. So many walk the journey of their life without the ultimate shepherd to guide their confused souls to the cross. Their eyes have been veiled by earthly distractions, the noise too shrieking to make out the faint whispers of God.
Matthew 9:36 says, "When he saw the crowd, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."
What if we could be those shepherds?
What if we could reach down into the darkness of those in our lives to lift those who are scarred and wounded to their feet to stand in the Light of our savior?
That is the type of purposeful Christ-like life I want to lead.
I understand that you can't help everybody.
I understand that attempting to reach everyone in this world is impossible but what if we started taking more steps to be intentional? If we started breaking out of our comfort zones to be symbols of love to those who don't know Him.
The lost and broken walk among us everyday. Hidden by the newest trends, plastered smiles, fake exchanges of "how are you?", the sharing of empty gossip. They are around us on all sides. Pray for your eyes to be opened and you will see lying beneath the cracks that people are crying out in pain.
Outward appearance is not telling of the state of the heart and if that's where you're looking then look beyond. God looks much deeper than that and we need to follow His lead if we are to help (1 Samuel 16:7).
Every single person around us is of of value to God. They have a unique story God has written for them that they may never experience if they're kept in the darkness. WE are the light to this world. As Christians we are CALLED to seek these people out, to bring them into the Light of Christ with every ounce of strength that we have.
[What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.]
-Matthew 10:27
God has called us as children of God to bring His lost children back into the light. To love others radically. To speak truth into the brokenness so that they may see.
God has called us to show love so that this world would know God through us.
You may know what it's like to look at the world through a different lens, the lens of Heaven. To see yourself as a child of the King and not of this world.
This is LIFE CHANGING and not something you can just tuck away into your drawers to whip out on Sundays. It is transformative.
"You are a child of Mine,
born of My own design and
you bear the heart of life.
No matter where you go,
Oh, you will always know.
You have been made free in Christ, you are a child of Mine.."
The highest privilege of all.
Broken, scarred, wounded, fallen, yet still we are children of God.
The treasure of Christ is what this world needs to see from us, because if we don't show them then how shall they ever know whose they are?
How will they know what they're missing out on?
Lord, I see them. I see them all around me. Lost, hurting, broken, searching, confused, unfulfilled like sheep without a shepherd. They remind me of who I was before and this drives me forward to reach out to them even more because I know that pain. I want them to know You, to feel Your love, to have joy, to know Your complete and unfathomable power. I want it all for them.
I want girls to see beyond their surface appearance, body type, and jeans size into the captivating woman Christ has made them to be. I want them to see how valued they are in God's sights. I want them to know there is a man God has picked for them worth waiting for and that giving yourself away only results in emptiness. I want to open their eyes to what God has gifted them with so that fulfillment may be found in that.
I want guys to know that they don't need to put on an act for girls to like them. I want them to know that the right kind of girls will value a strong faith not someone who is swayed by society, their friends, or anybody else besides Christ. I want guys to know that going from girl to girl will never produce the life-long love so many of you yearn for. I want them to know that they belong to You and no social group can fill that longing.
Jesus, give me the strength to show those in my life the power of Your cross. Help me to be Your eyes to seek out the broken and lost, even if it means going out on a limb. Give me the courage to share who You are with every page of my story. It's all for you. Every second of every day, I strive to be of use to You.
I will live for Love no matter what they say.
In Your name, Amen.
"With You Jesus, I'm going to set the world on fire..."
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