I’m titling this blog “(No Subject)” because it’ll intrigue and entice people (ok, maybe not, but we’ll try), because you need to read this. This blog is specifically for you. Yes, you.
246 days (*subject to change*). There are 246 days as of today, January 28, 2016, until I escape the heated debates over Donald Trump, the frustrating traffic on US 23, and the clamoring of impatient people with ridiculous expectations of me at work. There are 246 days until I leave my lovely friends and family, my easy access to foods that will sustain and satisfy my unnaturally picky-eating-self, and my ability to speak freely of my beliefs and of Jesus Christ.
In 246 days, my life will change drastically, and I will obtain a new normal. 246 days sounds like a long time, but in reality is such a short, minuscule chunk of time in retrospect to my life thus far (and in prospect of what’s to come).
Let’s take a look back at what I was doing 246 days ago from today:
- I was in my last week of high school
- I had yet to go to Guatemala
- I hadn’t stepped foot in a church that I understood and loved wholeheartedly
Keep in mind, I had already changed a whooole bunch. I won’t get into my testimony, but I thought that I was a brand new being at that point in my life. I had given up a lot of what I thought enhanced my character and gave me confidence. There was 1. no going back, and 2. no moving forward. I was happy with where I was at and wanted to keep it that way in my safe little bubble of oblivious comfort amongst this hectic and chaotic world.
Now, 246 days later, I feel as if I’m a new creation. Oh wait. I am! And anyone who knows me well enough to really know me, knows that I am literally a new. freakin. creation. I don’t mess around; eternity’s important, man.
When I say eternity, I am talking about yours as well. I don’t care who you are; you are not too far gone, you are not unworthy of the love and truth that is Jesus Christ, you are not too broken or too empty for Jesus to use you and fill you up, you are not alone. You are just as lovable and worthy as anybody. I am a walking, talking, breathing, living example.
Jesus Christ is for everybody. He is for the addict, for the adulterer, for the broken… He wants you. He wants to make you new and set you free from the chains that are restraining you. When He died on the cross, He died for YOU.
Romans 5:8 “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
There is not a single thing that you could do that would make God stop adoring you. God so lovingly invites us into a relationship with Him regardless of our sins, our struggles, or our weaknesses. He uses all of your weaknesses for His glory and for your good.
Our God is not the god that media portrays. He doesn’t hate gay people, He doesn’t give people cancer, He doesn’t promote or condone fighting and violence.
This is not a cult. I am not brainwashed. I simply love the Lord and Savior of my life with all of my heart, mind, and soul. I belong to a family of believers that are made my brothers and sisters in Christ; we love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).
This is me, letting you know how loved you are and what you are capable of doing in 246 days. (And just with your life in general). I am extending an invitation to you, to accept the invitation from God. Let Him show you how to turn your weaknesses into strengths. Let Him show you how to dance upon disappointment. Let Him show you how much you are loved.
You are never too far gone.
