Why aren't His hands healing? Why aren't His words teaching? Some of you may know that song from Casting Crowns. Well, since this past Saturday, that's kinda been the theme of my experiences. On Saturday I had a blast at one of my friend's church. The youth group had a movie and game night. It was amazingly fun, but the movie got me thinking.
We saw the movie "To Save a Life." First of all, I'm gonna say that it is now one of my favorite movies ever. It was about pretty much every teen issue you could come up with, and had a phenomenal Christian message. It really got me thinking about reaching out and helping and accepting people.
Then on Sunday evening, after the always-enjoyable usual church service that morning, I went with my youth group to an event called "The Stand." That, my friends, was an experience. There was a lot of singing, and a message. It basically challenged Junior High through College aged kids to reach out in their schools and "take up their cross." It really made me start reconsidering the way I've handled myself.
One thing that was stressed was the fact that we will be judged, persecuted, and rejected if we stand up for our faith. We have to accept and deal with that. Jesus DIED for us, so being a bit of a social pariah at times seems but a small price to pay. In addition, in my case at least, I'm already unpopular! I don't have anything to lose. And personally, I'd rather be unpopular because I AM someone, not because I'm no one.
And really, why do we pretend be someone or something just to please other people? I would far rather be hated for who I am than be loved for someone I'm not. God made each and every one of us for a reason. He has a purpose and a plan.
That's not to say that I feel that way all the time. In fact, most of the time I actually feel totally meaningless and purposeless. But that's something that I'm going to have to work through, and now I have some people who are willing to help me, so I can finally start figuring out how to get past all my issues. But until I figure it all out, I'll just keep telling myself that and keeping a good attitude and trusting God.
So, basically, I've been thinking a lot and I'm going to be changing some things. :) And I've had some amazing experiences that have in fact made a very important impact on me.
