It's ALL About God

Hey everyone,

Throughout this past year, sophomore year, things were going pretty swell, I have to say. Personally for me, there was a lot of "success." Nothing big was ever really bothering me--I just felt more in control of my emotions than I usually am, though that wasn't always the case throughout the year. Haha, to be sure, there were times of impatience, frustration, loneliness...

But I guess what I mean by success is that during the past year, I felt the meaning of this verse:

Psalm 133

¹Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when brothers dwell in unity!

²It is like the precious oil on the head,

running down on the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

running down on the collar of his robes!

³It is like the dew of Hermon,

which falls on the mountains of Zion!

For there the LORD has commanded the blessing,

life forevermore.

I got to know many brothers throughout this past year, discovering the same struggles, being helped with my struggles, and finding the joy in helping others and encouraging others in the Lord. God gave me a lot of joy in helping others, and He also taught me of the great blessing that He's given all of us in the "body life." In dwelling together as one under the Lord Jesus Christ. To pray for one another, to share with one another the greatness of God that we have experienced. It's really, really something special.

But just today, I was hit by two huge, huge surprises that have really torn my heart. It's crazy to see so many of the same things happening in such quick succession. I do feel that there must be a purpose for God showing this stuff to me.

Basically, I've just seen people kind of fall away from God. And it's crazy to me--it's crazy to me to hear them. And it breaks my heart, thinking about the mistakes I made, how wrapped up in other things I was when I could have helped. And it's crazy to see where they're at right now. And so that's why I wanted to write something on the blog really quick, just to warn people.

I think Michael Chin said this during the Camping Trip sharing time as well, but yes, CBS is not God. Christians are not God. But you know, back when I was younger, I used to go to Church because my parents made me. Then I used to go to Church because of my friends. Honestly, honestly I don't think I really understood things until college, and even now I'm not sure how much I really understand in my heart. But sometime in either freshman or sophomore year, something happened--I loved CBS, thought it was great, but God showed to me the joy of His salvation. Being a Christian isn't about finding a good Church, finding fellow brothers and sisters to have fun with, to share with, to pray together, it's not about whether a group feels clique-y or you feel like you just don't belong (now I'm not saying that it's bad to have/look for brothers and sisters, or to not hate clique-yness or to not find a better fellowship and all). It's all about God.

I remember the time now, when I thought about this. It was during the summer after my freshman year, and I was so lonely for some reason, and for the first time I realized it wasn't because I was longing for friends, for a girlfriend, for anything. I guess I just realized that the hole in our hearts can only be filled by God alone. God gives us loneliness, so that we know that we're missing something, we're missing Him! And without Him, nothing in this life can satisfy.

And you know, I think lots of people fall away because they don't feel like they belong at any Church, give up looking, and just don't meet with a body of believers (not saying that you have to in order to be a real Christian, but meeting together definitely helps you to keep on pursuing God), and they stop pursuing God. Because they enjoyed the fellowship that they had at one time, but now that it's gone, they don't have that personal inner drive and hunger to know God more. Instead, I think in some sense, they pursued God because of everyone around them.

And it's scary to me--to think, after CBS, would I stop pursuing God? It's something to take into consideration, because what we need is a personal vision of God. A personal understanding of the great joy and just greatness that we have in a relationship with God. That the experiences we have with our brothers and sisters in CBS or any other fellowship that is full of love is just a small portion of the love that we experience with God. That God is simply too important to leave by the wayside. That even though trials will come, and things will get in our way, and stuff will entangle us...even though we may not want to or feel like it, may not understand, God has the words of eternal life. There's simply no way else that we can go, even if we want to.

So for anyone out there who does not know this, please seek to experience it. And for all of us, work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and with humility, knowing that we are only wherever we are by grace and grace alone.

Are you willing to follow God, even when no one else around you seems to be following God?

And I'm not sure if this is right or not, but I do think that if you have a desire to follow God, then you also have a desire to find fellow believers and meet with them. Not saying you have got to meet Sundays with something called a Church in order to be a true Christian. I realize that if you're in the middle of some place with absolutely no other Christian, then it's probably understandable that you're not going to be able to meet up with anyone. I'm saying that, I don't know if you ought to be satisfied by being alone--reading the Bible alone, praying alone--and not making the effort to find others or to meet with others, even if you may not like the people you meet up with, or have some qualms with them (not saying, meet up with people who have fundamentally different views on God than you, saying things like you don't feel like you're a part of the in-group, feel like they're boring) if you can't find some better people to meet up with.

Not to say that you should just sit there quietly in the pews, meet, and go home, and feel like you're justified because you gathered with fellow believers. But rather, I guess that, God has always been after a people, not a person. God wasn't after Moses, uh per se, but God wanted Moses to lead the whole nation of Israel. It's not like God calls a person for the sake of that person, but always in view of the whole Body. We're not meant to stand alone, I think, but rather be a part of the Body together. That's why I feel that not falling away from God also means not falling away from the Body--because we can't just give up on being a part of the Body--because His Will is for the Body, and if we are in accordance with His Will, then we will also be concerned about the Body as well.

Ok, that's what I think, sorry for rambling. Comments? Disagreements? Agreements? Questions?