(no subject)
If you were to die right at this moment how many of you would be ok with that?
Who can say that right now, if it were to happen at this very second, that you would be at peace with it?
This was something I really use to struggle with. The topic of the “point to life” use to leave a pit in my stomach and something that I’d been searching for.
Last year my family and I went on vacation. We went on a cruise and I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmingly blessed… or spoiled. The ship was huge, full of everything that you could ever need. To my left and right I could see people walking around, most in love, some drunk, but all of them appearing to be happy. The first few days flew by, as I sat there enjoying a break that I desperately needed. However, when Thursday came something hit me.
I remember hearing someone make reference to the cruise ship being like HEAVEN and in that moment everything in my life that I was sure of just turned into the realization that HEAVEN/ETERNITY IS NOT AS FAR AWAY as I thought it was. And that terrified me. John 3:16 jumped into my mind “That who so ever believes in Him, will not perish but have ever lasting life.” And I thought to myself… “Do I believe?”
Being “Christian” for almost my entire life, the fact that I could so easily, in a split second, doubt the foundation of my faith, made me realize that there is more to being a Christian then going to church on Sunday and just trying to be good. IT'S BLACK OR WHITE!- God says he will SPIT OUT THE LUKEWARM!!!
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to describe that feeling I had… I couldn’t eat anything for the rest of the week… I barely slept, and I spent hours talking to my mom… begging her to give me answers. She handed me a Bible that she had brought with her. In response I threw it in my purse and continued to be miserable. I looked around the boat, and the faces of those ‘happy’ people turned into the faces of lost souls.
For those of you that know me, you know that the performing arts is one of my most favourite things. There was a performance on the boat that Friday night, and the singer was amazing, she captivated the audience, and could hit every note perfectly. Normally I’d be sitting there enjoying every moment. Instead, I just stared at her. I looked at her smile and the way she looked so happy, but a pit in my stomach formed and I found myself asking, “What is the point to all of this? Why do I get up everyday go and go to school? Why, when I think of eternity all I can picture is the empty nothingness of my life before I was born? Why do people bend over backwards to become famous when once you die- bang- it’s over?” I started to break everything down.
Friendships- what’s the point to them if once you die- it’s over?
Love- what’s the point when once you die-it’s over?
School- what’s the point? It’s not like in heaven I’m going to need to explain to Jesus the different parts of a cell
And then I broke down my faith… “Why do I believe? Why should I believe? If heaven isn’t real- then why not just go out and have sex with whomever I want to? Why not get high every weekend? Why not go to the parties?” I started thinking from the other side of things, and in doing so I felt such a great emptiness. I wanted to ask the people around me what they thought would happen to them once they died? Here they had saved all their money to go on a vacation- but what would it be once death had come? -Just a memory right? - Nothing that would be of any good to them when in their grave.
I was surrounded by people just living for the moment… - Moments that, as soon as they happened, would be gone, never to return again.
Monday came, and I was lying outside with my mom beside me. I couldn’t help it anymore and I burst into tears… She begged me to read the Bible that I had kept with me since Thursday, and when I opened it’s pages and began to read there was a peace that came from the pages and fell on me. That peace only lasted for so long, and that night I couldn’t eat or sleep, again…
The next day we flew home. I was ecstatic. Being a very goal oriented person I thought to myself that maybe all my “thinking” had happened because I had nothing else to do. Once I got home I read my e-mails and listened to my answering machine… some people called me to welcome me home and in those few hours I had forgotten all about what I’d been feeling the few days before. Once the calls stopped coming, and I had read all the e-mails I sat there in silence, and was haunted again. I was petrified…. How could all of this STILL be bothering me when I was back at home, the place where I felt the most secure. I instantly picked up my phone and called a friend of mine Jessica. After explaining it to her she reassured me that everyone goes through doubts, and invited me to go to a youth thing with her that weekend.
That week crawled by, but Saturday came soon enough. We drove to Pickering together, the whole time talking about my week away, and the impression it had left on me. The church was amazing. The worship time went on for 2 hours and as I stood there I was surrounded by peace. The topic of the message was Witnessing. “Go out into all the world, and preach the good news to all creations.” But it didn’t mean anything to me… and I left there, annoyed. I had enjoyed myself, but after begging God to show me what the point to all this was I was frustrated because I didn’t think He had shown me anything profound.
I slept over at Jessica’s house that night. I told her that the feeling hadn’t gone away… and again I had a restless night. The next morning we went to church together and during the prayer time she told me that we should go up to the front for prayer. We did, and still I was unsure
That week in school I felt like a zombie. I went through the emotions of every day. Having fun with friends but ultimately coming home to think about how stupid everything I had done that day was. I went to dance and just watched people interact- what was the point to all of this?!
In English class the next day Mrs. Helder let us listen to a poem written by Sylvia Plath. It was a depressing poem and you could tell that the woman who wrote it was obviously troubled. Someone mentioned the fact that Sylvia had committed suicide…. BANG- it hit me…. Here I was reading the work of one of the most famous American poets in history and the end of the story was that she had killed herself. This amazing life that people praise was over- done… Sylvia wasn’t a Christian. And to be blunt… Sylvia is in Hell. Right then and there I felt sick to my stomach…. “No one came to her and told her about Jesus Christ. No one told her that there was someone that loved her with un-conditional love… no one told her that if she grabbed a hold of him and put her faith in Him that she would be saved…. No one said ANYTHING?!” Was there a second chance?! NO! All that is left of her is a memory…. -A memory that will stay on earth for as long as there is earth. - But what about when Christ comes back. What will become of her then?
Class was over and as I walked down the halls here at my highschool I looked at the faces of those who passed me. I thought to myself… but do these people know Jesus? Do they believe in Him? Not because they are told to from an early child hood, but because they want to? If they were to realize just how short life is, would they be ok with that? Are they at peace with the thought of eternity?
If when I die and I’m standing at the gates of heaven ready to walk in, will there be someone from highschool walking the other direction screaming out to me- “Why didn’t you tell me!?” Once again, I felt sick to my stomach…
Guys… Life is short. Period. Once your time comes there is no second chance. I know that some reading this think i'm being self-righteous, or you've heard this a million times- But I am BEGGING you. Just think for two seconds.
What if I told you, you were going to die tomorrow- would you be ok with that? Guys, we all NEED Jesus Christ as the centre of your life. Not just something u think about when something like September 11th happens. You NEED him all the time. I was thinking about the 10 commandments the other day… and I was like, hey- I’m doing pretty good- I haven’t murdered anyone, and I haven’t committed adultery. Then I realized, with such guilt, what the first commandment is… “Though shalt love the Lord your God with all of your heart soul and mind.”…. Wow, what a statement. With every part of who I am I am to LOVE God. Some of you might have already fallen in Love with a guy or a girl… and some of you know that your parents love you… but the Love that Jesus Christ offers is unconditional. That level of love is so hard to come by, and the first commandment says, that I am to Love him with every part of who I am.
Sitting there I realized that the things of this world will pass away, and in the end, all I have to show for my life is that I believe in Jesus Christ and I tried to the best of my ability to be like him and obey every law that he has laid out for me. Sex, drugs, and alcohol are THINGS of THIS WORLD, and we are supposed to be “in this world but not of it.” We are to go out and tell everyone that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever… He will never leave you or forsake you, and he is standing there with his arms wide open begging for you to step into his embrace.
Don’t be like the people I watched on the cruise who were just living for the moment… PLEASE, jump into the arms of Christ and fall in love with Him.
Who can say that right now, if it were to happen at this very second, that you would be at peace with it?
This was something I really use to struggle with. The topic of the “point to life” use to leave a pit in my stomach and something that I’d been searching for.
Last year my family and I went on vacation. We went on a cruise and I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmingly blessed… or spoiled. The ship was huge, full of everything that you could ever need. To my left and right I could see people walking around, most in love, some drunk, but all of them appearing to be happy. The first few days flew by, as I sat there enjoying a break that I desperately needed. However, when Thursday came something hit me.
I remember hearing someone make reference to the cruise ship being like HEAVEN and in that moment everything in my life that I was sure of just turned into the realization that HEAVEN/ETERNITY IS NOT AS FAR AWAY as I thought it was. And that terrified me. John 3:16 jumped into my mind “That who so ever believes in Him, will not perish but have ever lasting life.” And I thought to myself… “Do I believe?”
Being “Christian” for almost my entire life, the fact that I could so easily, in a split second, doubt the foundation of my faith, made me realize that there is more to being a Christian then going to church on Sunday and just trying to be good. IT'S BLACK OR WHITE!- God says he will SPIT OUT THE LUKEWARM!!!
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to describe that feeling I had… I couldn’t eat anything for the rest of the week… I barely slept, and I spent hours talking to my mom… begging her to give me answers. She handed me a Bible that she had brought with her. In response I threw it in my purse and continued to be miserable. I looked around the boat, and the faces of those ‘happy’ people turned into the faces of lost souls.
For those of you that know me, you know that the performing arts is one of my most favourite things. There was a performance on the boat that Friday night, and the singer was amazing, she captivated the audience, and could hit every note perfectly. Normally I’d be sitting there enjoying every moment. Instead, I just stared at her. I looked at her smile and the way she looked so happy, but a pit in my stomach formed and I found myself asking, “What is the point to all of this? Why do I get up everyday go and go to school? Why, when I think of eternity all I can picture is the empty nothingness of my life before I was born? Why do people bend over backwards to become famous when once you die- bang- it’s over?” I started to break everything down.
Friendships- what’s the point to them if once you die- it’s over?
Love- what’s the point when once you die-it’s over?
School- what’s the point? It’s not like in heaven I’m going to need to explain to Jesus the different parts of a cell
And then I broke down my faith… “Why do I believe? Why should I believe? If heaven isn’t real- then why not just go out and have sex with whomever I want to? Why not get high every weekend? Why not go to the parties?” I started thinking from the other side of things, and in doing so I felt such a great emptiness. I wanted to ask the people around me what they thought would happen to them once they died? Here they had saved all their money to go on a vacation- but what would it be once death had come? -Just a memory right? - Nothing that would be of any good to them when in their grave.
I was surrounded by people just living for the moment… - Moments that, as soon as they happened, would be gone, never to return again.
Monday came, and I was lying outside with my mom beside me. I couldn’t help it anymore and I burst into tears… She begged me to read the Bible that I had kept with me since Thursday, and when I opened it’s pages and began to read there was a peace that came from the pages and fell on me. That peace only lasted for so long, and that night I couldn’t eat or sleep, again…
The next day we flew home. I was ecstatic. Being a very goal oriented person I thought to myself that maybe all my “thinking” had happened because I had nothing else to do. Once I got home I read my e-mails and listened to my answering machine… some people called me to welcome me home and in those few hours I had forgotten all about what I’d been feeling the few days before. Once the calls stopped coming, and I had read all the e-mails I sat there in silence, and was haunted again. I was petrified…. How could all of this STILL be bothering me when I was back at home, the place where I felt the most secure. I instantly picked up my phone and called a friend of mine Jessica. After explaining it to her she reassured me that everyone goes through doubts, and invited me to go to a youth thing with her that weekend.
That week crawled by, but Saturday came soon enough. We drove to Pickering together, the whole time talking about my week away, and the impression it had left on me. The church was amazing. The worship time went on for 2 hours and as I stood there I was surrounded by peace. The topic of the message was Witnessing. “Go out into all the world, and preach the good news to all creations.” But it didn’t mean anything to me… and I left there, annoyed. I had enjoyed myself, but after begging God to show me what the point to all this was I was frustrated because I didn’t think He had shown me anything profound.
I slept over at Jessica’s house that night. I told her that the feeling hadn’t gone away… and again I had a restless night. The next morning we went to church together and during the prayer time she told me that we should go up to the front for prayer. We did, and still I was unsure
That week in school I felt like a zombie. I went through the emotions of every day. Having fun with friends but ultimately coming home to think about how stupid everything I had done that day was. I went to dance and just watched people interact- what was the point to all of this?!
In English class the next day Mrs. Helder let us listen to a poem written by Sylvia Plath. It was a depressing poem and you could tell that the woman who wrote it was obviously troubled. Someone mentioned the fact that Sylvia had committed suicide…. BANG- it hit me…. Here I was reading the work of one of the most famous American poets in history and the end of the story was that she had killed herself. This amazing life that people praise was over- done… Sylvia wasn’t a Christian. And to be blunt… Sylvia is in Hell. Right then and there I felt sick to my stomach…. “No one came to her and told her about Jesus Christ. No one told her that there was someone that loved her with un-conditional love… no one told her that if she grabbed a hold of him and put her faith in Him that she would be saved…. No one said ANYTHING?!” Was there a second chance?! NO! All that is left of her is a memory…. -A memory that will stay on earth for as long as there is earth. - But what about when Christ comes back. What will become of her then?
Class was over and as I walked down the halls here at my highschool I looked at the faces of those who passed me. I thought to myself… but do these people know Jesus? Do they believe in Him? Not because they are told to from an early child hood, but because they want to? If they were to realize just how short life is, would they be ok with that? Are they at peace with the thought of eternity?
If when I die and I’m standing at the gates of heaven ready to walk in, will there be someone from highschool walking the other direction screaming out to me- “Why didn’t you tell me!?” Once again, I felt sick to my stomach…
Guys… Life is short. Period. Once your time comes there is no second chance. I know that some reading this think i'm being self-righteous, or you've heard this a million times- But I am BEGGING you. Just think for two seconds.
What if I told you, you were going to die tomorrow- would you be ok with that? Guys, we all NEED Jesus Christ as the centre of your life. Not just something u think about when something like September 11th happens. You NEED him all the time. I was thinking about the 10 commandments the other day… and I was like, hey- I’m doing pretty good- I haven’t murdered anyone, and I haven’t committed adultery. Then I realized, with such guilt, what the first commandment is… “Though shalt love the Lord your God with all of your heart soul and mind.”…. Wow, what a statement. With every part of who I am I am to LOVE God. Some of you might have already fallen in Love with a guy or a girl… and some of you know that your parents love you… but the Love that Jesus Christ offers is unconditional. That level of love is so hard to come by, and the first commandment says, that I am to Love him with every part of who I am.
Sitting there I realized that the things of this world will pass away, and in the end, all I have to show for my life is that I believe in Jesus Christ and I tried to the best of my ability to be like him and obey every law that he has laid out for me. Sex, drugs, and alcohol are THINGS of THIS WORLD, and we are supposed to be “in this world but not of it.” We are to go out and tell everyone that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever… He will never leave you or forsake you, and he is standing there with his arms wide open begging for you to step into his embrace.
Don’t be like the people I watched on the cruise who were just living for the moment… PLEASE, jump into the arms of Christ and fall in love with Him.