Christ said "everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life." (Matt 19:29) He also said, as most people have heard before, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lost it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matt 16:24-25)
I have struggled with these verses for a long time. What does it mean to give up everything as a college student? We can't all quit college and move to Uganda and poor out our lives on orphans. (or can we?!) I read a book over Christmas called Kisses from Katie (which I highly recommed) that told a story of a 19ish year old woman who moved to Uganda and adopted around 14 young girls. Crazy! But everyone can't do this, as much as we long to. So what does it look like practically to live radically, with total abandonement to Christ every single day of our lives? I feel like if we do anything less, we are missing out on great joy and delight in the Lord. He wants our whole hearts, and deserves as much. How can we give it all to him in the mundane, daily busyness of our lives? Or can we?
Let's not forget that there is like 20 years of Jesus that the Bible does not reveal. He had to live a "normal" life until he started his traveling and what we call his ministry. But before that he lived at home I suppose doing chores, going to school, running errands for his mom. How do you think he ministered during this time. I would like to think through reading and meditating on his Father's word and through loving all people. Poor and wealthy, stupid and smart. I don't think that you have to travel across the world to love people. It takes a change of perspective and lots of prayer to love the way God loves. Forgiving and unyielding. Might as well start practicing at school, at Target and most difficultly for me, on the highways.
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