This whole week, I have been musing over a question (big surprise): If Jesus were here on Earth today, would he want to come hang out with me? Kind of a random question but it has really been bothering me all week. I was having difficulty wrapping my head around the concept of God's love for me. I know that He loves us- so much that he gave his life for us, in fact. But the thing is, He didn't necessarily die for ME, He died for all of humanity. Now, I am obviously included in this, but my heart and mind were darkened by the question: was the sacrifice of Jesus merely a professional courtesy so that he can save everyone, and then pay special attention to certain people that he happens to enjoy more than others? It sounds so bizarre that I feel dumb writing it out here, but dumb or not, that's what was going on in my heart all week.
I envisioned it going something like this:
Jesus: Whew! Glad that's over! You doing ok there Matt? The process of salvation is pretty cool huh?
Me: Yeah, no kidding! Thanks for saving me and junk. You wanna go grab some Taco Bell?
Jesus: Ohhh shoot man, I would but um.....I totally promised Moses I'd help him put some new rims on his chariot today.
Me: Oh ok....well, uhh you maybe want to do something after that?
Jesus: Look bro, there's billions of souls that all want to hang with me. I gave you my Spirit, isn't that good enough? I mean I'm living inside you all the time... I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything but Joe Schmoe over there is really doing some sweet stuff in my name. What have you done lately that you just can't wait any longer? Quite frankly, I just find it more refreshing to hang out with Joe...he's not so needy you know? Now run along and shoot me a prayer later if something sweet comes up.
Me: Yeah ok...well...see you around I guess...
I KNOW!! It's a majorly flawed representation. Don't sue me. I hammed it up a bit too for comedic effect, but in a less extreme way, I was actually envisioning something along those lines.
It seems silly, but I think that many of us, whether new or old Christians can have a flawed perception of God and who he really is. Some people see God as an Angry Judging God who sits on the legal bench watching surveillance footage of us messing up just waiting to throw a lightning bolt at us at the first sign of weakness.
Others may see God as a Peaceful Old Grandpa God who sits in his heavenly rocking chair and beacons us to come sit on his lap and tell us all about how hard our life is so that he can kiss our boo-boos and make us feel good about ourselves.
Or you can be like me and envision a Disinterested Bro God who, even though at the end of the day he cares about you, would rather hang out with someone cooler than you and doesn't really want to hear about your day.
Or it could be something else altogether. What, exactly, your picture of God is isn't the point. The point is that, at some point along the way, we project ourselves onto God and turn Him, in our mind's eye, into something less than He really is. How arrogant and proud!
Lately, I've been struggling with how to love individuals that I am less than fond of. I think I took that struggle in my soul and projected it onto my image of God. As if God's love can be limited in some way. And the real tragedy about it is that I turned God into a Prideful God. But pride, is intrinsically opposed to the very nature of God. For the very nature of God is love, and love is the opposite of pride. (It is appropriate to note, at this point, that God can, should, and does value Himself above all else- but this is not what we call the sin of Pride. It is because he values Himself above us that he can have love for us- because his love for us enables us to know him and bring Him the Glory due his name).
And now we have come full circle! What began as a thought exercise examining the nature of God on a philosophical level has led us to examine our own hearts and realize how sinful they are if left to their own devices. And isn't that just what we should expect? I have talked in previous posts about how God calls us to perfection. A lot of people (again projecting themselves on God rather than allowing Him to project Himself on them) think that this means "Unless you are perfect, I will not help you." What He really meant, I think, is more to the effect of "the only help I will give is help to become perfect."
In case you can't tell from my previous posts, I'm a C.S. Lewis fanatic. Again, Mr. Lewis has the perfect words to say here:
"Dozens of people go to [God] to be cured of some particular sin which they are ashamed of (like masturbation or cowardice) or which is obviously spoiling daily life (like a bad temper or drunkenness). Well, He will cure it all right: but He will not stop there. That may be all you asked; but if once you call Him in, He will give you the full treatment."
Like a father looking on at his baby's first steps, he is pleased with us. But no father would be satisfied if the same child, when he was 20 years old, was still crawling everywhere instead of walking upright like a man. Hence, He will always bring us to a place where he hears our questions and answers them with a question of his own that exposes our hearts and helps us on the path towards the perfection that he has planned for us so that one day we will stand before him and hear "well done good and faithful servant."
For me, I know there is much pride in my heart that I need to repent of and replace with humility and compassion for others. Whatever it is for you, my reader, know that you are not alone; until the last day we will struggle side by side. And God is not disinterested- he is supremely interested and he will not stop until you become the kind of creature that can obey the command "Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect."
"The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)
Friday, March 30, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Pat Maulsen, the Idealist
No preamble this time- just gonna get straight to it. The thing that's been on my mind all week has been this: what is it that prevents people from living the way they know they need to live? It happens far too often: we have an ideal way to do something; whether that is raising a family, interacting with friends or associates, making dinner, or anything in between. And yet, we fail to live up to the standard. We take shortcuts, make compromises, and ultimately fall short of the ideal.
I am chiefly interested in why man seems to fail at living an upright, righteous life. Before I begin, there is, I think, a necessary distinction that I need to make for anyone who may be reading this who is not a Christian. I am coming at this from a Christian point of view, so what I really am asking is "why does man fail to obey God and follow in the path He has laid out for him?" That phrasing is important for the following reason:
C.S. Lewis rightly pointed out that it is always better to speak of rules and obedience rather than ideals and idealism. The reason, according to Lewis, is that when we speak of ideals, people may be inclined to conclude that morality is subjective. When we say that a man has "high ideals" when he tries hard to be a righteous man, we may be tempted to think that moral righteousness is a private taste unique to the man, much in the same way that a man can say that he has attained his "ideal" woman or car (that is, the woman or the car is something which he considers 'ideal', but no one else is called to have the same ideals in women or cars unless they are rather foolish). To think such a thing would be a mistake. Perfect behavior is prescribed as the ideal for all men by the very nature of being a man in much the same way that perfect algebraic calculations are the ideal for all mathematicians. You see, of course, how silly it becomes then for anyone to feel proud that they have high moral standards: perfect calculations in math are a high ideal, but there is nothing praiseworthy about trying to get the questions right; it would be idiotic not to since every mistake you make will cause you trouble in subsequent calculations. Likewise, there is nothing praiseworthy about trying to be morally perfect- it is the standard. Every moral failure will cause problems for you and those around you.
God has laid out a path of righteousness for all who would know him. We are told in the Word that the whole point of our salvation was to do good works for the glory of God (Ephesians 2:10). So knowing all this, the question remains: why do we deviate from the path?
So often we go through life stuck in the routine. We lose sight of what we are living for and get stuck in the moment. There is another distinction that must be made now. There is a modern sentiment (and much of it well meaning) that tells us that we must not dwell on the future or past, but focus on the here and now. I think that this is right if people mean it one way and wrong if they mean it another. Allow me to explain. People are right to say that we should dwell on the here and now if by that they mean that we ought not spend so much time worrying about what the future might hold. Even Jesus said this when he told us "do not worry about tomorrow for each day has enough trouble of its own." The idea to take away is that we should trust God to provide and not give in to fear, which has no place in our lives.
But people are wrong in saying this if by it they mean that we should live life carefree and recklessly without considering the outcome of our actions. I believe that this is what most "modern" people mean when they tell you not to worry about the future. It's the old "don't take life too seriously because no one makes it out alive anyway" joke. But, of course, that's rubbish. We do make it out alive, and what's more, we live on forever- either in the eternal presence of God (heaven) or the eternal non-presence of God (hell). Therefore it is immensely important to take consideration of the future.
It is best defined by Pastor Mark Driscoll when he says we should "reverse engineer our lives." In other words, we should live life forward, but define it backward. We must first consider the outcome, namely, our eternal destiny, and then live with the end constantly in mind. So many times, I lose sight of the goal. My vision clouds and I cannot see the End. It is when this happens that I begin to slip up in my life. Begin to compromise. Begin to backslide.
In Revelation, Jesus has a message for the church in Ephesus. He commends them on overcoming all sorts of trials and remaining faithful and yet he has this to say:
"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first" (Revelation 2:4)
That's a scary thing to hear your savior say to you: "you don't love me like you used to". And therein, we arrive at the answer to the original question. We come to love sin more than God, and so we deviate from the path of righteousness! Oh, that we would remember what it was like to have that intoxicating love for God that we first had when he rescued us from ourselves for the first time! God my prayer is that you would turn our hearts back to you again!
Luckily for us, God is patient and long suffering. It comes with the territory of love, which he lays claim to. If you are reading this and you have been waiting around in a stupor, doing your own thing, following your own path even though you have been saved by God, remember your first love! If you are not yet convinced that following God is the path for you, then try it and see how much better it is! But I warn you, you will embark on an endeavor that will require your whole effort. Giving anything less than your all is to not fully know God and the calling he has for your life. Finally, the message to all readers: put to death the things that hold you tight that are not from God. Do it now! The gradual process is of no use whatsoever. The only way to achieve success in this area is to remove the cancer of sin with extreme prejudice. It can be achieved quite easily if only you will rest in God's power.
Peace.
I am chiefly interested in why man seems to fail at living an upright, righteous life. Before I begin, there is, I think, a necessary distinction that I need to make for anyone who may be reading this who is not a Christian. I am coming at this from a Christian point of view, so what I really am asking is "why does man fail to obey God and follow in the path He has laid out for him?" That phrasing is important for the following reason:
C.S. Lewis rightly pointed out that it is always better to speak of rules and obedience rather than ideals and idealism. The reason, according to Lewis, is that when we speak of ideals, people may be inclined to conclude that morality is subjective. When we say that a man has "high ideals" when he tries hard to be a righteous man, we may be tempted to think that moral righteousness is a private taste unique to the man, much in the same way that a man can say that he has attained his "ideal" woman or car (that is, the woman or the car is something which he considers 'ideal', but no one else is called to have the same ideals in women or cars unless they are rather foolish). To think such a thing would be a mistake. Perfect behavior is prescribed as the ideal for all men by the very nature of being a man in much the same way that perfect algebraic calculations are the ideal for all mathematicians. You see, of course, how silly it becomes then for anyone to feel proud that they have high moral standards: perfect calculations in math are a high ideal, but there is nothing praiseworthy about trying to get the questions right; it would be idiotic not to since every mistake you make will cause you trouble in subsequent calculations. Likewise, there is nothing praiseworthy about trying to be morally perfect- it is the standard. Every moral failure will cause problems for you and those around you.
God has laid out a path of righteousness for all who would know him. We are told in the Word that the whole point of our salvation was to do good works for the glory of God (Ephesians 2:10). So knowing all this, the question remains: why do we deviate from the path?
So often we go through life stuck in the routine. We lose sight of what we are living for and get stuck in the moment. There is another distinction that must be made now. There is a modern sentiment (and much of it well meaning) that tells us that we must not dwell on the future or past, but focus on the here and now. I think that this is right if people mean it one way and wrong if they mean it another. Allow me to explain. People are right to say that we should dwell on the here and now if by that they mean that we ought not spend so much time worrying about what the future might hold. Even Jesus said this when he told us "do not worry about tomorrow for each day has enough trouble of its own." The idea to take away is that we should trust God to provide and not give in to fear, which has no place in our lives.
But people are wrong in saying this if by it they mean that we should live life carefree and recklessly without considering the outcome of our actions. I believe that this is what most "modern" people mean when they tell you not to worry about the future. It's the old "don't take life too seriously because no one makes it out alive anyway" joke. But, of course, that's rubbish. We do make it out alive, and what's more, we live on forever- either in the eternal presence of God (heaven) or the eternal non-presence of God (hell). Therefore it is immensely important to take consideration of the future.
It is best defined by Pastor Mark Driscoll when he says we should "reverse engineer our lives." In other words, we should live life forward, but define it backward. We must first consider the outcome, namely, our eternal destiny, and then live with the end constantly in mind. So many times, I lose sight of the goal. My vision clouds and I cannot see the End. It is when this happens that I begin to slip up in my life. Begin to compromise. Begin to backslide.
In Revelation, Jesus has a message for the church in Ephesus. He commends them on overcoming all sorts of trials and remaining faithful and yet he has this to say:
"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first" (Revelation 2:4)
That's a scary thing to hear your savior say to you: "you don't love me like you used to". And therein, we arrive at the answer to the original question. We come to love sin more than God, and so we deviate from the path of righteousness! Oh, that we would remember what it was like to have that intoxicating love for God that we first had when he rescued us from ourselves for the first time! God my prayer is that you would turn our hearts back to you again!
Luckily for us, God is patient and long suffering. It comes with the territory of love, which he lays claim to. If you are reading this and you have been waiting around in a stupor, doing your own thing, following your own path even though you have been saved by God, remember your first love! If you are not yet convinced that following God is the path for you, then try it and see how much better it is! But I warn you, you will embark on an endeavor that will require your whole effort. Giving anything less than your all is to not fully know God and the calling he has for your life. Finally, the message to all readers: put to death the things that hold you tight that are not from God. Do it now! The gradual process is of no use whatsoever. The only way to achieve success in this area is to remove the cancer of sin with extreme prejudice. It can be achieved quite easily if only you will rest in God's power.
Peace.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Pat Maulsen Needs a Break From Spring Break
Spring break is officially over and now six more weeks of unceasing agony await me in the form of statistics homework and sociological research lectures. But to be honest, I'm glad to be back at school. While I was certainly glad of the opportunity to take a break from class, I realized that I just need the structure of life in Ames to be productive. My spring break consisted mostly of video games (beat Mass Effect 3!!) and the consumption of large amounts of cream soda. I went to the Wisconsin Dells for a few days with my two brothers and my dad, but even that seemed boring after a few hours- you can only float on the lazy river for so long before you begin to think that maybe life has more to offer.
But I think the biggest disappointment for me was in my poor pursuit of God over break. Going into break, I was in a great place with my spiritual life, but almost as soon as I set foot in my house, I suddenly lost motivation to pick up my bible, to seek God, and to demonstrate a transformed life with my attitude when I was around both my family, and my brother's non-believing friends.
Honestly, it had me really bummed out for a while. I can always see a huge difference in my attitude when I am seeking Jesus and when I am not. I was disappointed in my failings- before break, I was so on fire and dedicated to living a life of non-compromise in all areas. Well, without going into too much detail, I definitely compromised in some areas. I found myself in a bit of a limbo- I felt dirty and unusable by God to achieve anything for his Kingdom. I was paralyzed by my failure and I was unsure what to do.
Tonight when I met up with my connection group for bible study, I found that pretty much everyone had the same experience as I did, hence this blog post. In dealing with failure, a biblical perspective, as always, can illuminate the path forward.
A great example of moving forward after failure is the story of Achan in Joshua 7. Israel is currently on the path to the Promised Land and they have to eliminate some of their military enemies that get in their way. After their epic defeat of Jericho, they come up against the people of Ai. Expecting another victory, the Israelites attack with a small force which is totally decimated. Joshua, their leader, is confused. Isn't God on their side? Unbeknownst to him, a soldier (Achan) had taken some of the plunder from Jericho that was supposed to be set aside for God and so God's favor was no longer with the Israelites.
To say that Joshua is a little bummed out is an understatement: he rips his clothes, throws himself face down on the ground, and wails before God. But God comes into the picture very matter-of-factly and says:
Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction...O Israel, you cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.
(Joshua 7: 10-13)
It's a simple formula. Quit whining and lying on the ground helplessly- repent, get the sin out, and then get right back on the path you were on before! In the very next chapter, after the people deal with their sin, God says:
"Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged...for I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai." (Joshua 8:1)
When you fail, renew your commitments and maybe even make some new ones. But be sure to add this stipulation: 'if I fail, I will not mope around in despair; I will encourage my heart in God's mercy, repent, and start up again." Future life is too precious, the possibilities for joy too many to be paralyzed by the past.
God has a great love for you. So maybe you are reading this and you also had a bummer of a break. Well, it's over now so get back on track! Or maybe you had a great break and you have nothing you need to overcome. You are in a unique position to encourage and help those brothers or sisters around you who maybe were not so fortunate. James says "therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16)
Ultimately, God will get the glory due his name. How fortunate for us that he is a merciful God and renews his mercy every morning for us. We will always face failure in this life to some degree until we die and are resurrected with our new and perfect bodies at the world's end. Until that day, we must struggle on and set our eyes on Jesus, the only one who lived a perfect life, as our example and humbly repent and move on when we mess up.
Here's to the rest of the semester being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit moving in his children for his Glory!
But I think the biggest disappointment for me was in my poor pursuit of God over break. Going into break, I was in a great place with my spiritual life, but almost as soon as I set foot in my house, I suddenly lost motivation to pick up my bible, to seek God, and to demonstrate a transformed life with my attitude when I was around both my family, and my brother's non-believing friends.
Honestly, it had me really bummed out for a while. I can always see a huge difference in my attitude when I am seeking Jesus and when I am not. I was disappointed in my failings- before break, I was so on fire and dedicated to living a life of non-compromise in all areas. Well, without going into too much detail, I definitely compromised in some areas. I found myself in a bit of a limbo- I felt dirty and unusable by God to achieve anything for his Kingdom. I was paralyzed by my failure and I was unsure what to do.
Tonight when I met up with my connection group for bible study, I found that pretty much everyone had the same experience as I did, hence this blog post. In dealing with failure, a biblical perspective, as always, can illuminate the path forward.
A great example of moving forward after failure is the story of Achan in Joshua 7. Israel is currently on the path to the Promised Land and they have to eliminate some of their military enemies that get in their way. After their epic defeat of Jericho, they come up against the people of Ai. Expecting another victory, the Israelites attack with a small force which is totally decimated. Joshua, their leader, is confused. Isn't God on their side? Unbeknownst to him, a soldier (Achan) had taken some of the plunder from Jericho that was supposed to be set aside for God and so God's favor was no longer with the Israelites.
To say that Joshua is a little bummed out is an understatement: he rips his clothes, throws himself face down on the ground, and wails before God. But God comes into the picture very matter-of-factly and says:
Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction...O Israel, you cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.
(Joshua 7: 10-13)
It's a simple formula. Quit whining and lying on the ground helplessly- repent, get the sin out, and then get right back on the path you were on before! In the very next chapter, after the people deal with their sin, God says:
"Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged...for I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai." (Joshua 8:1)
When you fail, renew your commitments and maybe even make some new ones. But be sure to add this stipulation: 'if I fail, I will not mope around in despair; I will encourage my heart in God's mercy, repent, and start up again." Future life is too precious, the possibilities for joy too many to be paralyzed by the past.
God has a great love for you. So maybe you are reading this and you also had a bummer of a break. Well, it's over now so get back on track! Or maybe you had a great break and you have nothing you need to overcome. You are in a unique position to encourage and help those brothers or sisters around you who maybe were not so fortunate. James says "therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16)
Ultimately, God will get the glory due his name. How fortunate for us that he is a merciful God and renews his mercy every morning for us. We will always face failure in this life to some degree until we die and are resurrected with our new and perfect bodies at the world's end. Until that day, we must struggle on and set our eyes on Jesus, the only one who lived a perfect life, as our example and humbly repent and move on when we mess up.
Here's to the rest of the semester being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit moving in his children for his Glory!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Pat Maulsen Goes to a Ball
This past weekend was our annual Military Ball for ROTC. Once a semester, we put on this formal dining in ceremony which includes dinner, awards, a guest speaker, and of course, a dance. It's a good opportunity for the cadets to dress up in their military dress uniforms, take a date along, and feel cool for a night. It is a great time for blowing off steam and celebrating all that we have accomplished as an organization: this year, Iowa State was awarded the McArthur Leadership Award- a prestigious award that is only given to 8 schools in the nation every year (one school in each brigade; about 40 or so schools make up a brigade). That means that our current senior class is literally one of the best in the nation! What a sweet accomplishment!
As a senior, this was my last year to enjoy this event. I was honored to be able to take one of my best female friends as my date. We had a blast: she had never been around so many military people before and was intrigued by what we do. I had a good time getting to be all formal and show her a good time. I was even able to show her a few of the dance moves that I picked up in my Dance 160 class (it paid off already!). Every year, I've taken one of my good friends as my date and I was able to complete the tradition this year. One of them even made a picture to commemorate (most recent year on the far right).
As a senior, this was my last year to enjoy this event. I was honored to be able to take one of my best female friends as my date. We had a blast: she had never been around so many military people before and was intrigued by what we do. I had a good time getting to be all formal and show her a good time. I was even able to show her a few of the dance moves that I picked up in my Dance 160 class (it paid off already!). Every year, I've taken one of my good friends as my date and I was able to complete the tradition this year. One of them even made a picture to commemorate (most recent year on the far right).
It really is a different environment for people who aren't used to it. Having been a cadet for four years now, I forget how foreign an environment the army can be for outsiders. One thing that Jilian (my date this year) said that stuck in my mind was something to the effect of "I haven't been around so many non-believers for a long time...it's so different from what I'm used to." She said that after we walked onto the dance floor only to see cadets and their dates dancing provocatively with one another (a style of dance that we were careful not to emulate) to some fairly offensive music- being played by a drunk DJ no less.
It is true. For Christians that stick mainly to their own christian communities, seeing the world in all of its raw reality can be kind of shocking. Most of the kids in Salt Company (the college ministry I'm part of) dance either real dances like swing, or stand around in same sex groups jumping around in time to the beat of the music (never any music that could be considered offensive). Even for me, it's strange to see the difference; before the ball started and we were still taking class pictures, all most of my peer could talk about was how they couldn't wait to get out of here and go get hammered, speaking in great detail of the insane concoctions that they were going to make to ensure that they got as drunk as possible as fast as possible. One cadet even mentioned to me that it was his goal to get me drunk that night. In a time now past, I would have been tempted to say yes, but gladly I can say that I do not find such things to be God honoring and therefore, my resolution to remain steadfast in character remains unshaken.
What really amazes me about these situations is that so often, I observe that these activities are simply taken for granted by non-believers as the normal thing to do: as if choosing any other late night past time would be a waste of time. Now I want to be clear that I'm not judging or condemn anyone- I love all my ROTC brothers and enjoy time spent messing around with them. I'm just using this as an example to illustrate my point.
When Christians are shocked at the behavior of the world, I think we have to take a step back and ask why we are so shocked. First of all, we are told that we should expect just this:
"For you have spent enough time in the past doing what the pagans choose to do- living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead." (1 Peter 4: 3-5)
It is right that Christians should choose to separate themselves from the activities of unbelievers. If they don't, how else would they be identified as a holy people set apart for God? Yet the last part of the above verse should cause us to perk up our ears: "they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead." Those who don't know Jesus will have to answer for their actions. If they don't change their ways, they will be condemned to hell. That should worry us to no end. We, like our God, should "take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather desire that they turn from their ways and live."
To that end, we cannot live totally cloistered lives and keep to our own little "holy huddles." Jesus never intended that. He Himself went out among sinners so much that the Pharisees accused him of being a drunkard because he associated with "those types". Jesus even prayed to the Father that we would be involved in the world:
"I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you would take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world even as I am not of it...As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world." (John 17: 14-18)
I confess that I am not exactly leading the way in this area. Evangelizing is my biggest weakness as a christian. I am safe and comfortable just staying in the confines of my own friend group- all of whom are believers already. But as one wise man put it: if you follow Jesus at a safe distance, your relationship with him will be safe and distant. But by God's grace I hope to become more purposeful about sharing my beliefs with others. ROTC is a great starting place: I see non believers every single day there and we have to work together. What a great opportunity God is giving me that I have been mostly wasting. I would challenge all my readers to seek out opportunities to share what they believe as well: at work, in class, or whatever. If you don't already believe and you're reading this, consider yourself evangelized! It's no accident you're reading this and I'd love to have a conversation with you about Jesus.
Till next time! Stay classy ;)
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