When I decided to devote my life to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I knew what I was getting into. Well, at least I had an idea. The thing I was devoting my life to was a message of love and betrayal, hurt and healing, death and new beginnings.
I say love and betrayal, because at the core of Christian belief is a story of how God is so full of love that He created mankind as a race that could experience that love and return it. If you know anything about love, you know that the more people you get in on it, the better it is. Love between friends is special, but the love you find in a big family is something truly remarkable. And any loving parent will tell you that when a new person enters the world, it's an amazing experience just to love them as they grow. The betrayal of the Christian story enters as time and time again throughout history, mankind has decided they're better off without God, and they'd rather do things their own way. In the mindset of modern human rights, there's nothing wrong with this picture. But when you step back and see that this is really a family breaking apart, there's obviously something wrong. When I was 12 years old my family broke apart. It rocked my world in a way I could never explain, and I was so young. I can't imagine the pain of being the one who built this family, just to watch them turn on each other and on me.
If there's anybody who knows the depths of ultimate pain, it is God. Why He would ever choose to keep pursuing our hearts after we as a people have strayed so far from love and from Him is truly a mystery. Christians end up using words like 'grace' to describe it. God, for some reason we don't understand, still wants us back. And as the story goes, there's nothing He wouldn't give up just to bring us home. I say the Christian story is one of hurt and healing because in the midst of all this pain, with the world and its people in shambles, God gave up His Son in our place. There is no peace without justice, so God brought the judgment - the punishment for all of our trespasses - upon Jesus Christ instead of on us. Jesus spent His life on earth telling everybody about the Kingdom of Heaven, about God's love and His ability to rescue us, and then gave himself up to be killed like a common criminal. As we foolishly were killing the only man in history to truly live a selfless, loving life, God was showing us how far He was willing to go just to save us from ourselves.
The last part is death and new beginnings. Jesus Christ died that day, nailed to a cross in classic Roman execution style. But three days later he rose from the dead, giving us hope and another clear picture: that although we're a confused people that turn on each other and even destroy ourselves, following Jesus is a sure way to know that we can rise again. He spent his years of ministry feeding starving people, healing sick people, reuniting broken families, and giving the poor and destitute a second chance at life. The Bible tells all these stories, and says that anybody who believes and calls on the name of Jesus, asking for forgiveness, will receive it. This message is for the bad people...for the ones you wouldn't think would ever make it into Heaven. One of the criminals being hung on a cross next to Jesus' asks for forgiveness just before his death. He would never have the chance even to apologize to a single person he's hurt, much less try to make up for all the wrong he's done. But Jesus tells him that he'll be welcomed into Heaven, just because he trusted Jesus to get him there.
This was what I devoted myself to when I was 14 years old. I came from a horrible home life and was becoming a stereotypical product of my environment. I loved nobody, I trusted nobody, and I had a lot of anger in me that would come out any chance it got. But I was told how Jesus died to rescue people like me: no hope, no good path in life to aim for, nothing. He offered me a rescue. And I took it.
One of my favorite authors used an analogy of signposts. He said that Christians had the unique opportunity of being signposts to the Kingdom of God. That is, our lives could be pointing to something greater than ourselves; greater than anything else. I liked this idea right away. Everyone likes to be a part of something bigger than themselves, right? I've been saying for a while now that I want to be a signpost for the Kingdom. When someone looks at me, I want their attention to be redirected toward God.
A lot of people think they're not good enough for this. And I understand that. But the funny thing about signposts is that they can be made of anything. It doesn't matter if it's sleek chrome with sandblasted lettering and gold trim, or if it's old rotting wood with paint sloshed on it- either one completely accomplishes the task it was built for: to point somebody along their way, and to redirect their attention to what really matters! What I mean to say is that it doesn't matter where you've come from, what mistakes weigh on your soul, or what impossibilities seem to rule your life. God has an amazing way of taking the very little that your life may amount to, and bringing an unbelievable amount of purpose to your life and peace to your soul.
I say this from experience. I may never get to tell anyone about the horrors I've lived through, the demons I've battled, or the shame that's weighed me down. And it would be a horrific lie to say that it all just went away. But I sleep easier at night ever since I gave my life over to the cause of Jesus Christ, because for once I know that everything will be alright for me. Because God hears the cries of the oppressed, the confused, and the hopeless. My life has been through the depths of darkness, so I can expect that much more of a rescue from God.
And just as my life can point to God, so can each of my stories that I have to tell.
These are the signposts.
Why haven't you had a blog until now?! This is perfect for you. I'mma follow you
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