Maybe a little random...
Here's a thought...
(bare with the confusion if you can...I've been studying physics)
So, we live in this world where everyone does what is 'right' for him or herself...a world where what you do is for you and what I do is for me, and if I don't agree with what you do, that's fine because it's all relative.
It's all relative.
I hate that phrase. It makes life here on earth -- knowing who God is...knowing his desire for his Children...it makes living that life so frustrating. I am so tired of the lack of backbone that our world has...wait...that North Americans...no, Canadians have.
And yet, I often find myself slipping down that downward spiral...forgetting to stand up for what I believe in...forgetting to be the aroma of God.
But how do we balance it? I mean, I'm a firm believer that in order to reach this generation I have to be able to relate to them. If I come across as "that Christian girl" I'm probably more likely to scare people away than reach a friend who doesn't know God. Yet, sometimes I find that I'm even afraid to tell people that I went to Bible school...or that the reason I can't work on Sundays is because I go to church in the evenings...or that one of the reasons why I'm decent at writing essays is because I wrote close to five million of them at Bethany...most of which were marked by Randy Klassen.
And what about when I'm confronted with something I don't agree with...like homosexuality or promiscuity...which seriously surrounds me all of the time at school and at work...what then? Because, remember, what's right for you might not be right for me...
Oh, man.
I guess what I'm getting at is that I want to be more outspoken for Christ, but I don't know how. I think Jesus wants us to live radically...and at the same time, I think he wants us to have a really good time doing it. I don't think he means to restrict us, yet at the same time we have to figure out how, in this generation, we can be "in the world but not of the world".
How is that possible when the line between "in" and "of" is just so ridiculously fuzzy?
(bare with the confusion if you can...I've been studying physics)
So, we live in this world where everyone does what is 'right' for him or herself...a world where what you do is for you and what I do is for me, and if I don't agree with what you do, that's fine because it's all relative.
It's all relative.
I hate that phrase. It makes life here on earth -- knowing who God is...knowing his desire for his Children...it makes living that life so frustrating. I am so tired of the lack of backbone that our world has...wait...that North Americans...no, Canadians have.
And yet, I often find myself slipping down that downward spiral...forgetting to stand up for what I believe in...forgetting to be the aroma of God.
But how do we balance it? I mean, I'm a firm believer that in order to reach this generation I have to be able to relate to them. If I come across as "that Christian girl" I'm probably more likely to scare people away than reach a friend who doesn't know God. Yet, sometimes I find that I'm even afraid to tell people that I went to Bible school...or that the reason I can't work on Sundays is because I go to church in the evenings...or that one of the reasons why I'm decent at writing essays is because I wrote close to five million of them at Bethany...most of which were marked by Randy Klassen.
And what about when I'm confronted with something I don't agree with...like homosexuality or promiscuity...which seriously surrounds me all of the time at school and at work...what then? Because, remember, what's right for you might not be right for me...
Oh, man.
I guess what I'm getting at is that I want to be more outspoken for Christ, but I don't know how. I think Jesus wants us to live radically...and at the same time, I think he wants us to have a really good time doing it. I don't think he means to restrict us, yet at the same time we have to figure out how, in this generation, we can be "in the world but not of the world".
How is that possible when the line between "in" and "of" is just so ridiculously fuzzy?
posted by kathleen at 11:29 PM
5 Comments:
woah man! that is seriously what i needed to read today. I was just saying that yesterday- the whole 'in the world but not of the world' thing. Then I got laughed at because its such a cliche saying and then people thought i had been at bible school for too long. I watched a movie the other day about these whole cities that went through this crazy transformation... turning away from witchcraft/drugs and turning to Jesus. And then I also started thinking about how something like that seems nearly impossible in Canada. It makes me sad. We are one of the wealthiest nations in the world, yet we have no backbone. I like your post. It makes me think. love and miss you!
kathleen, i feel ya. i'm at university too and it's so overwhelming because if i even say that i dont agree with the bar lifestyle, i'm apparently "close-minded" and not cool. and it gets worse if i express what i believe on the issues of homosexuality. my beliefs are not accepted in a place that promotes and glorifies homosexuality and even is having a "carnival of sex" this weekend... seriously, no joke. there is a night completely about sex, mostly of the homosexuality variety. yep. i know how you feel.
Kathleen,
I'd tell you what I think of your post but I don't want to risk offending you...
Well, it's postmodernity. I'm sorry to say it, but the more I read scripture, well... suffering comes to mind as far as being a Christian. Personally I don't think we understand the importance of following Christ in suffering. Yah, so maybe we are not 'cool', who freaking cares. I hope we would rather serve our God than buy into culture, but again, I think we need to learn how to be wiling to suffer. It's kind of like Peter. Let's see, he was one of the closest disciples of Jesus. Yet when it came time to admit his following, and possibly join in the sufferings of Christ he lost his nerve. He denied Him three times. Coward. Yet, when I go on to read 1, and 2 Peter, well I see a changed man. Pretty much the whole thing is about suffering, I think he learned. It's too bad really. We are not willing to suffer on earth, yet choose to make God suffer.
i completely agree with you, luke.
but here's my problem...how can I take a stand like that and still relate to the people around me...I mean, these kids at my school wouldn't want anything to do with God if all I did was preach into their faces. It's like the street corner preachers, right? When I see them, I pretty much walk in the other direction...and I believe in God. What about those that don't? I don't know...I just think that sometimes as Christians we give God a bad rep...and I am trying to figure out how not to do that without compromising.
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