Wow. I just finished watching the movie "God's not dead" with my family. I had heard that it was a good movie, and as a believer in Jesus Christ, naturally I wanted to see it. Sometimes Christian films make me nervous. They have enough cheese to satisfy anyone's appetite, and quite frankly they miss the mark I think they're trying to hit. Don't get me wrong, I love those films. But I also already have a deep, personal relationship with Christ, so I am likely to be far less judgmental of those films than your everyday person. "God's not dead," however, portrayed real life in a tangible way. It wasn't all sunshine and roses. Jesus didn't just swoop in and save the day. Relationships were lost, work was done, and faith was tested. This isn't going to be a movie review, but I felt I had to preface it with this. I encourage you, whoever you are to see this movie. I don't care if Christ is already your everything, or if you deny Him with everything in you, the movie is a challenge. One I think we should all take. And that's what this blog is going to be about.
As I sat watching this film, so many things were brought to my attention. I'll spare you the details of my thoughts, because to you they are probably uninteresting. This week has been challenging for me. The Lord has really been convicting me of some things I didn't know I needed to be convicted of. Anyone who knows me knows that from the time I was a little girl, I have felt a deep and intense calling on my life. Rest assured I by no means think that my life is greater than anyone else's, but it isn't for not that I have been given a passion for truth and the ability to speak those truths in various ways. Eloquence is nothing but a gift from the Father, and while others may disagree with me, I feel that somehow he's gifted me with it for some reason. A reason bigger than I can comprehend. It excites me to no end. But one of the main challenges I have been up against this week is really very simple. All throughout middle school and high school I was convinced that the plans God had for me would be far beyond my comprehension. I could look anyone in the eye and tell them that I was going to change this world for my Savior. I believed it with everything in me. It wasn't cockiness that drove me to believe that. It wasn't for self-gratification, although that is something I have to battle with daily. Somehow I just knew it. God had spoken it to me and I didn't doubt Him. I wasn't afraid of sharing truth with anyone, really. If you would've told me the day I graduated high school I would be where I am today, I probably would've said you were crazy. Because here is the honest truth... for the past how many ever years, that passionate girl has been gone. Somehow when she became a woman, that passion started to slowly be replaced by other things. Somehow work, money, boyfriends, and sleep became her top priority. Somehow the fear of offending others because of her faith won out. Don't get me wrong, I love my Savior. I still have that passion burning deep inside of me, and in my comfort zone I am still that firecracker for Him. But i'm at a loss trying to figure out where that firecracker went when it actually mattered. I was so challenged by this movie in a few areas. One way is in how I live my life with other Christians. I am good at having healthy debates with people, but there are still times I fail at standing up for what I really know is right, living what I know is right. I hate to say that there are parts of me that have bought into mundane Christianity and it downright disgusts me. Where did the girl who used to dance before the Lord in worship go? Because now she talks about how that's okay to do in your own space, but maybe it's best to not distract others. Or the girl who didn't care about marriage because she knew God would provide the right person in the right time, and now all she can do is worry herself sick with whether her relationship is it or not? It's just beyond me! Don't get me wrong, Jesus is my lifeline, I would be dead without Him. I cannot imagine a life where he wasn't my everything. So the next thing that challenges me, really baffles me. Jesus is my very breath, to deny him, to me, would be like denying the oxygen I need to keep me alive. Since that IS true, why do I deny Him? No, I don't think I have ever directly denied Him before, but I am also a person that hates gray areas. To me if I just skate by in life and not live it fully for Him, that seems like denying Him. I fully believe I wasn't put on this earth for any other reason than to bring glory to my Father, and to share the truth of His love with every single person I come into contact with because I want them to have what I have. Any of you who know God the Father know how glorious it is to be His. When I am in His will and I know it, there is truly nothing better. Living for Jesus is not an obligation, it is the best thing in the world.
I guess it really made me think about my life, the people surrounding it, the ones involved in it. It doesn't matter if they disown me, disregard me, or see me as an insane Jesus freak... my life isn't for them, my life isn't for me. It's for Jesus. Through that His truth and light will shine, and people will come to know Him as their Savior! I want to know that even if I am completely alone when it comes to other people, I have my Jesus by my side. The great thing is though, I was also reminded of the body of Christ that is all around the world. We are NOT alone. This battle has already been won. We are equipped with the blood of Jesus, and we have each other to stand next to in battle. For as bleak as things seem sometimes, the truth is that there are people all around the world fighting the same fight you are. It's not a competition, it's a victory! How great that our God is in the souls of people everywhere. How great that we as the body of Christ get to stand together and reach this world for Him. That is...if we are willing. I guess maybe I need to challenge myself, and maybe you need to challenge yourself too. Mundane, lukewarm Christianity won't do anything to change this world... only passionate, fearless, Christ-centered warriors will. I want to be that person, do you? Our God is not dead. I don't want to be selfish with that knowledge anymore. Who's with me?
