It was the final night in San Francisco. We were next door to Youth With A Mission (YWAM), down in the basement. Our entire group from HDC sat cross-legged in a circle, and each of us took a turn to tell a story of what impacted us most the last few days. Even though we had all been through an intense week both physically and emotionally, I saw faces glowing with passion, and eyes glistening with tears. Every single one of us in that room had been changed in some way or another. Each one of us had experienced discomfort, fatigue, and frustration. Yet, I was amazed at my willingness, as well as the willingness of others, to get up day after day and keep doing work in our small missionary field, with enthusiasm and whole-hearted devotion.
Now let me show you a contrasting story: Two weeks roll around, and here I am back at school. To my left, I see that girl sitting in front of me, the one who gets all the guys she wants and has a perfect image. When she laughs, I roll my eyes in disgust. To my right, I see that guy, the nerd with thick glasses and a lisp. When he says hi to me, my friends and I giggle after he leaves. Later, my teacher gives me homework for the night, I groan and complain. That type of behavior sums up my week.
Has that ever happened to you? You have an amazing experience that taught you so much about God and others, and then once you’re back with your friends its just…same old, same old. You slip back into your bad habits and meet up with your old friends and you continue going through the motions. And the mission trip you went on during the summer? That story gets old after several weeks.
Why is it so easy for us to love homeless people and not love our peers? Why do we, after being rejected and yelled at, keep coming back towards crack addicts and alcoholics with love and compassion, but somehow we react in anger to our friends who hurt us? How can we humble ourselves to sit down and eat with a homeless person and yet ignore the friendly special needs student that we go to school with every day? After such a spiritual high, why do we teenagers often hit such a spiritual low?
When I surround myself with Christian friends, I am “more Christian” and we love being on fire for God. Yet more than a hundred days out of the year, Jesus gives me the opportunity to share his love with people I know and care about, and I choose to shrink back into the shadows. I have never pursued Jesus’ cause with such fervor and such incessant prayer, as when I was in San Francisco. For me, God used that time to reveal my hypocritical nature to myself. If God’s love is truly in me, then I should be more than willing to love and pray for my friends who don’t know about Him or my peers that make fun of me. The Great Commission applies to every area of my life and I want every area of my life to reflect the splendor of my Savior.
This year is a fresh start. I encourage you to use the growth experiences with Christ that you have experienced (whether it be from San Francisco, Hume Lake, church, vacation, or anywhere else) to be a light everywhere you go and to everyone that you meet.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” –Matthew 22:37-39
