I've heard many reasons for people being Christians. My own reason came about because of God's never-ending love for me and his incredible ability to speak to me at just the right time. Other fascinating reasons have to do with drug addictions, logical deductions, or even just one significant person mentioning a church somewhere or a youth group elsewhere.
One thing I would like to tell all to-be Christians and even some people who know the faith but maybe don't have the personal relationship with Christ for one reason or another: do not take it on unless you know it is your decision, that you have examined everything you need to and despite some small doubt some fearful person gave you, you have decided for yourself that Christ is your savior.
Some might ask why I, a professing Christian and as such someone who wants to spread the gospel as much as possible, would want to tell people to question their initiation to faith. The reason for this is that people who come to faith just because it's a social thing to do are not typically in the habit of sticking to the faith when the going gets tough.
Whatever your reason for believing (or not, if that's the case), please ask yourself if it is based in some form of social pressure, because at some point in everyone's faith they are put to the test, and you, not your friends or your parents or your pastor, will have to get through that test, and if your faith is based on anything but Christ and the relationship you have with Him, you will find the test easier to give up on than you could have possibly expected.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Odd but valid question
I have this odd tendency which seems to be either more prevalent in my life or I'm just becoming more conscious of it, so I ask you this question. Please answer it before you read on:
If you know something is inconstant, is it right to distance yourself from it or not value it as much as something you know is constant?
Ok, since you now have that opinion, I'll tell you my difficulty: I know that some friendships I have will not last. It's not that these relationships will explode at some point, it's more of a slow withering which occurs and which I have observed in many interactions I have with people. After this realization, it seems best to create an emotional distance from those relationships which would only serve to (at worst) hurt both individuals or (at best) be a slight obligatory misuse of time.
The difficulty with all this is that I know the logic of it, but something in me can't accept that this is how a healthy individual should be treating those around her or him. I'm hoping some input from someone will give a bit better light on a problem which has kinda haunted me for a long time.
If you know something is inconstant, is it right to distance yourself from it or not value it as much as something you know is constant?
Ok, since you now have that opinion, I'll tell you my difficulty: I know that some friendships I have will not last. It's not that these relationships will explode at some point, it's more of a slow withering which occurs and which I have observed in many interactions I have with people. After this realization, it seems best to create an emotional distance from those relationships which would only serve to (at worst) hurt both individuals or (at best) be a slight obligatory misuse of time.
The difficulty with all this is that I know the logic of it, but something in me can't accept that this is how a healthy individual should be treating those around her or him. I'm hoping some input from someone will give a bit better light on a problem which has kinda haunted me for a long time.
On being 21
(this is transferred from my MSN space... I was told that one isn't very good, so I came over here)
Hey Anyone,
No idea who's gonna read this; probably no one.
I turned 21 on Saturday. Yes, many people are surprised that I am so young as well as that my birthday was not widely celebrated, but I'd like to speak to one thing which I believe should hit every person at 21: what are you doing? At this point in life the gloves are off, I can now go to the states and drink with the best of them. More importantly, there is a number of people out there who may see 21 as a magical age which now means I am a "man", as though this gender and sex definition did not apply to me beforehand. I suppose that I could have been (and still may be) called a child before my birthday, but what has really changed? Also, what does being a "true man" entail? My mail hasn't been working great in the past little while, so if there's some sort of manual detailing my new responsibilities, I won't get it for a bit... I don't think that it'll arrive anyways. It's silly to assume that all of the sudden I'm a new person; I am who I have always been: an impermanent form of what is to come. As is with many people, there are times when I demonstrate the behavior I would wish to show for my entire life, and other times which I really wish didn't happen. God, knowing exactly what I need, has revealed that I won't always be clumsy with words, not always brutal with feedback, and not always negative in opinion; yet the change always happens slowly, with each increasing increment of self-knowledge and devotion to God.
In the end, being 21 doesn't mean a thing. I am now past two decades of age, and there is more ahead of me than behind me. Being who I am, I am truthfully frightened of what's to come, because I inevitably know what it's going to be.
I only pray that acheiving the great prize of living for 21 years will inspire me to pick up the responsibility I have left slacking, and become the man I know God has it in store for me to be.
Hey Anyone,
No idea who's gonna read this; probably no one.
I turned 21 on Saturday. Yes, many people are surprised that I am so young as well as that my birthday was not widely celebrated, but I'd like to speak to one thing which I believe should hit every person at 21: what are you doing? At this point in life the gloves are off, I can now go to the states and drink with the best of them. More importantly, there is a number of people out there who may see 21 as a magical age which now means I am a "man", as though this gender and sex definition did not apply to me beforehand. I suppose that I could have been (and still may be) called a child before my birthday, but what has really changed? Also, what does being a "true man" entail? My mail hasn't been working great in the past little while, so if there's some sort of manual detailing my new responsibilities, I won't get it for a bit... I don't think that it'll arrive anyways. It's silly to assume that all of the sudden I'm a new person; I am who I have always been: an impermanent form of what is to come. As is with many people, there are times when I demonstrate the behavior I would wish to show for my entire life, and other times which I really wish didn't happen. God, knowing exactly what I need, has revealed that I won't always be clumsy with words, not always brutal with feedback, and not always negative in opinion; yet the change always happens slowly, with each increasing increment of self-knowledge and devotion to God.
In the end, being 21 doesn't mean a thing. I am now past two decades of age, and there is more ahead of me than behind me. Being who I am, I am truthfully frightened of what's to come, because I inevitably know what it's going to be.
I only pray that acheiving the great prize of living for 21 years will inspire me to pick up the responsibility I have left slacking, and become the man I know God has it in store for me to be.
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