Spiderman and Me...and perhaps some Samson

Superheros definetly live in a quandary, or so I have decided. To have so much exceptional power brings on great challenges. "With great power comes great responsibility"-Spiderman.
Simply acknowledging said powers and responsiblity without taking action would be a great dissapointment and waste.

This week as we talked about Samson, I couldn't help thinking..."Why did God give Samson such power, and then allow him to totally waste it?" Actually, when you really think about it, Samson decided to waste it. He took the power of God and used it for his own benefit. He asked himself, "What am I capable of doing?"and then totally destroyed people...without asking "What should I be doing?"

What has God given you that you need to be using? How can we live our lives so that the awesome gift of forgiveness and reconciliation that God has given to us impacts more lives?

If Spiderman can do it...so can we!

Where Am I Going? Who Am I becoming?

Recently, I've found that the main question asked of me by adults is, "Where are you going to college?", or "What are you going to do after high-school?" While I am sure now that these people are well meaning and are simply showing their interest in my life, my first reaction was to become insecure, and start searching for the perfect college like some kind of education obsessed person. Searching like a maniac, I found myself going nowhere. Thankfully, God through the wisdom of my friends and family, showed me that I was being slightly obsessive. Looking back now (not that it was so long ago) I realize that I allowed myself to become so obsessed with what college I am going to, that it became the main focus of my life. I totally lost any sense of a big picture focus.

Tonight as we were talking in small groups, something that one of my leaders said really stuck out to me. God is more concerned about who we are becoming, and the people that we are reaching out to, than he is about our careers or majors in college. (Not that we shouldn't think about those too) It is so easy to be caught up in the minute details of everything, but in doing so we lose the ability to see the meaning and purpose of things. I want my life to be about who and where God wants me to be, rather than about finding the college that will answer the question of the concerned adult.

1+1= Wonderful

Talking about living life two by two has been really eye opening. I've begun to examine my life, and seen some areas in which I allow pride to get in the way of the relationships my heart needs desperately. We are all designed and made for relationship, we are not made to walk alone. Clearly, it is not enough to merely recognize this about ourselves. The solution is to actively pursue those around us. Don't wait for someone to pursue you (Honestly, I'm guilty of this often), be brave and build relationships. It's not easy, but the reward is well worth the effort.

"All of the sin in the world is as a live coal in the sea of God's grace."

As we wrap up our discussions on God's grace and moral boundaries, I have been reminded of the equalizer that is God's grace. No one deserves grace more than another. My sins do not need more or less grace than someone else's sin. Just because there are no websites tracking the location of complusive liars, gossipers, disrespectful people...or any "lesser" sins, does not make us any more deserving of God's grace than the criminals who are tracked online.

When we realize this we need to be willing to extend grace to those around us. I'm excited that God allows us to reach out to those around us, and that his grace frees us to serve and love others.

You are Free...

What we've been learning, what we've been talking about in small groups hit home really hard this past week. I found myself repeatedly worrying about past mistakes, past unwise decisions, not knowing what to do with them or why I was thinking about them.

I'm beginning to realize that grace intersects in my life in this area. Because of grace, God allows me to 1) make mistakes, 2) learn from my mistakes, and 3) be forgiven of my mistakes.

This is not to say that grace allows up to do whatever we want without consequences, however, when we repent of our sins, God truly does forgive us and allow us to move on. He gives us the opportunity to learn from our mistakes, and lovingly guides us back to where we belong.
This true freedom is found in following God.

The "Get out of Jail Free" Card...

Ouch- my first reaction to last nights discussion with my small group family.
Guilty as charged, I've many times been a "grace abuser". But, the point of what we are learning is not to point fingers at each other, not to make you feel like the worst Christian in the world; but to encourage you to have a deeper and growing relationship with Christ. If we use the grace of God as a "get out of jail free" card, our relationship with God is so much smaller, we reduce Him to our magical guilt reliever. However, if we chose to allow the grace of God to impact our lives and to free us to a life of love for Him, He becomes so much more to us.

What are you learning about Grace and moral boundaries this month?

Grace...
As we discussed grace and legalism in small groups last week, my small group had a thought provoking discussion on giving and receiving grace. As we thought about it I realized, that I have almost grown to expect grace, I've lost the joy and surprise when God reaches down and extends it to me. Because I don't understand it, I've minimalized it.
Don't forget the scandal that grace is.