Startled
I'll begin with lyrics and expand from that. These lyrics relate to my... realization.
If We Are the Body
Casting Crowns
It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in trying to fade into the faces
The girls teasing laughter is
carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know
Chorus:
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way
A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances
Tells him that his chances are better out on the road
Chorus
Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the body of Christ
Chorus
Jesus is the way
I had an interesting conversation with Nick today. The first conversation since we broke up, actually. It was interesting because, when it started out, I knew God would come up. Basically, what I said was that I missed what we had - but I knew God put a wedge between us for a reason. I'm confidant that God had a purpose in our relationship beginning, and a purpose in it's end. I'm 100% confidant in that. Everything happens on God's terms, not our own. Let me show you some of the things he said, to clarify why I feel the need to write this entry, to make this statement. And why I feel I need to do a better job of witnessing upon my return to school.
Dr Nick12345678: you shouldnt try to devote your whole life to God
Dr Nick12345678: or at least thats my own oppinion
Dr Nick12345678: Its highschool
It's that attitude that prevents us from witnessing to our friends, isn't it? It's that attitude that prevents many high school students from making a real, true commitment to Christ to begin with. The first of you to deny it knows that it's at least half true. So many of us, myself included, get afraid of getting responses like this. But what we need to say in return to these people is that there is nothing worth doing if it is not for God. There is nothing that is more important than that. If I, of all people, recognize this, so should you. It isn't a complicated concept, is it? There is nothing better than serving God. I feel hapiest when I am, I feel no other desire when I'm not. Christ bought us with His blood, did he not? Should we not do all that we can to serve Him? We can never repay him. We can't. The only thing we can do is to serve him.
Want to know my response to what Nick told me? "If I am here only for an instant, and in the long run that's all my existance is - the blink of an eye, then I want to spend every second of it praising the God that gave me that moment of life." And coming from him, it seemed a stupid statement, his next. "If you are only here for an instant, what's the point?" I had little response to this. I had to make it hit him somehow. And I have to try and get this point across to as many people as possible - because that is what I am called to do. "Because when you love someone... don't you do everything within your power to make them happy? To make sure that they get what they deserve from you?" Isn't that true?
I love my God, my Jesus, my Savior, my Daddy - I love him with all of my being. I need nothing more to be sustained. God is more than enough for me, for any hunger I might experience, any thirst, any pain. He is my everything. Isn't that more than enough reason to spread the gospel of his son? I look up greatly to Paul, and he inspires me to do more for God. I never met the man, and yet I look up to him simply for what he did in God's name. For his living God, his living Savior - his Daddy. It's amazing. In Romans 1:16, Paul says that he is not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God to save those who believe. Why, then, are we so afraid of spreading this gospel?
My opinion is that we, to be completely honest, are afraid of what others will think of us, or do to us. We are afraid to combat the opinions of others. For some, it seems justified in being afraid of losing your job. But that, to me, seems stupid even. Followers of God have thrown their lives away, died even, for a cause that they believed was great. Does it make sense, then, when we should say until we're blue in the face that God has sent us to show others the grace of God, the gospel of His son, and yet do nothing? So many of us stand by the sidelines, watching everyone else and afraid to move into the game. We cheer them on, saying we'll join in - but how many of us really do? It amazes me how many of us do this without a second thought.
Now, in all of this don't think that I haven't counted myself in all of these opinions - because I have. I just don't get why we continue to see opportunities and not take them. I, personally, am tired of being a timid believer. I won't stand for it anymore. That is not what I want to be. I don't want to live in fear of anything other than disappointing God. Thiinking about all of this... it brought me to tears. I couldn't begin to explain why. It was just a "You idiot" moment. I had so many opportunities brought to mind that I looked over simply because I was afraid of one thing or another.
Who of you will stand with me, and be unafraid and unashamed of the gospel?
God Bless,
Alynne
Galatians 2:20
If We Are the Body
Casting Crowns
It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in trying to fade into the faces
The girls teasing laughter is
carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know
Chorus:
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way
A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances
Tells him that his chances are better out on the road
Chorus
Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the body of Christ
Chorus
Jesus is the way
I had an interesting conversation with Nick today. The first conversation since we broke up, actually. It was interesting because, when it started out, I knew God would come up. Basically, what I said was that I missed what we had - but I knew God put a wedge between us for a reason. I'm confidant that God had a purpose in our relationship beginning, and a purpose in it's end. I'm 100% confidant in that. Everything happens on God's terms, not our own. Let me show you some of the things he said, to clarify why I feel the need to write this entry, to make this statement. And why I feel I need to do a better job of witnessing upon my return to school.
Dr Nick12345678: you shouldnt try to devote your whole life to God
Dr Nick12345678: or at least thats my own oppinion
Dr Nick12345678: Its highschool
It's that attitude that prevents us from witnessing to our friends, isn't it? It's that attitude that prevents many high school students from making a real, true commitment to Christ to begin with. The first of you to deny it knows that it's at least half true. So many of us, myself included, get afraid of getting responses like this. But what we need to say in return to these people is that there is nothing worth doing if it is not for God. There is nothing that is more important than that. If I, of all people, recognize this, so should you. It isn't a complicated concept, is it? There is nothing better than serving God. I feel hapiest when I am, I feel no other desire when I'm not. Christ bought us with His blood, did he not? Should we not do all that we can to serve Him? We can never repay him. We can't. The only thing we can do is to serve him.
Want to know my response to what Nick told me? "If I am here only for an instant, and in the long run that's all my existance is - the blink of an eye, then I want to spend every second of it praising the God that gave me that moment of life." And coming from him, it seemed a stupid statement, his next. "If you are only here for an instant, what's the point?" I had little response to this. I had to make it hit him somehow. And I have to try and get this point across to as many people as possible - because that is what I am called to do. "Because when you love someone... don't you do everything within your power to make them happy? To make sure that they get what they deserve from you?" Isn't that true?
I love my God, my Jesus, my Savior, my Daddy - I love him with all of my being. I need nothing more to be sustained. God is more than enough for me, for any hunger I might experience, any thirst, any pain. He is my everything. Isn't that more than enough reason to spread the gospel of his son? I look up greatly to Paul, and he inspires me to do more for God. I never met the man, and yet I look up to him simply for what he did in God's name. For his living God, his living Savior - his Daddy. It's amazing. In Romans 1:16, Paul says that he is not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God to save those who believe. Why, then, are we so afraid of spreading this gospel?
My opinion is that we, to be completely honest, are afraid of what others will think of us, or do to us. We are afraid to combat the opinions of others. For some, it seems justified in being afraid of losing your job. But that, to me, seems stupid even. Followers of God have thrown their lives away, died even, for a cause that they believed was great. Does it make sense, then, when we should say until we're blue in the face that God has sent us to show others the grace of God, the gospel of His son, and yet do nothing? So many of us stand by the sidelines, watching everyone else and afraid to move into the game. We cheer them on, saying we'll join in - but how many of us really do? It amazes me how many of us do this without a second thought.
Now, in all of this don't think that I haven't counted myself in all of these opinions - because I have. I just don't get why we continue to see opportunities and not take them. I, personally, am tired of being a timid believer. I won't stand for it anymore. That is not what I want to be. I don't want to live in fear of anything other than disappointing God. Thiinking about all of this... it brought me to tears. I couldn't begin to explain why. It was just a "You idiot" moment. I had so many opportunities brought to mind that I looked over simply because I was afraid of one thing or another.
Who of you will stand with me, and be unafraid and unashamed of the gospel?
God Bless,
Alynne
Galatians 2:20