Written by David Brooks
Key Verse: Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him. Romans 12:2 (CEV)
Things to think about:
• What does anti-conformity mean to you?
• How do you stick out?
So God has placed us in this earth for a reason. He wants to tell others about him. But how do we really follow that? Does not cheating on your math test really count for “being good?” Or how about not taking that last cookie even though you’ve already had 12! Do these things really make us Christ followers?
You’ve all heard the phrase “Christian vs. Christ-follower” right? We even saw a video about it today. So if we’re supposed to follow Christ, then we don’t just stop at the Don’ts. We keep going into the dos. Some people in here have parents who expect you to just barely pass, maybe even with D’s. Some of you have parents you say “don’t eat red-meat because it’s in the Bible!” Right. Well, right here and right now, I want to break a little news to you, you may be winning gold stars left and right in your parent’s eyes but not in God’s. He doesn’t just look at you and “Judge you by your cover.” No, he takes a look way deeper.
See, you can listen to ONLY CHRISTIAN music, and ONLY eat clean, white meat, and only go to church on Sundays or Wednesdays for that matter but if in your mind you’re thinking, “Oh wow! That kid is listening to ’s new hit single! I wanna listen!” or “That sundae looks so good! I mean yeah sure, my mom said to not eat sugar after 7, but what the heck! Screw her!” Then you’re just as bad as having eaten steak, and listened to in the first place. Now I’m not trying to get those of you who do the “only Christian” music thing, to stop doing it. I’m just saying that if you’re gonna do it, then the rest of you needs to match that. You can’t not listen to on your iPod, but still watch it on MTV. And you can’t go for 6 burritos without feeling just as bad as having eaten that sundae. I mean honestly guys, let’s be real.
So we’ve talked about the don’ts but let me give you an example: I brought along with me my health project – a skeleton. So first we have to do a little background check on ourselves: let’s look at Genesis.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them
Genesis 1:26-27
Ok, so we know we were made in His image and his likeness. We can see that this is evident in the verses we just read, right? And for me, in my opinion and in my walk with God, being created “in his image” means being created with the standards He has: Perfection. Now I know we can’t achieve perfection but there’s a saying that goes like this. “Shoot for the moon and even if you miss, you will land upon a star.” So I believe we should always strive to keep His standards which are referred to in the books of the law: Leviticus, numbers, and Deuteronomy.
So knowing that, I’m gonna give you a cool way to destroy your health project. No no no!! Just kidding! But listen up: I’m gonna have Kevin come up and sort of follow me here. So for every standard we lower, he’s gonna cut something off.
Standard #1 – Just do your best: Not as in “try harder.” As in “do what you did before.”
Standard #2 – I still love you. HAHAHA so basically your dad says, “I know you’re doing as well as you can, but just remember: I still love you” you go for the “whatever” attitude and flunk your test because you didn’t try.
Standard #3 – You are you, and no one can change that: Do what you wanna do!
Standard #4 – You’re so far down, why not just sin a little more!
This is what happens with your standards if you don’t catch yourself. You find yourself at breaking point where things start to be noticed. Your standards were at the moon, but now they’re just about level to the floor. No use for those anymore. And that’s exactly what happens. We start not to care. We become complacent and desensitized. Is this what God wants for our lives? The answer is simple: NO.
This is the main idea: don’t just sit on the fence. MOVE. Because sitting on the fence is just as bad, if not worse than the ones who committed the sin. If you and your friends are walking home from school and one of them pulls out a bottle and invites you to drink, what are you going to do? Just stand there and say “no thanks. I don’t drink,” or drink with them? No, instead listen to the Holy Spirit and tell them that it’s wrong and that there’s more to life. I mean, it may sound a little out-of-the-box but just do it!
Jesus isn’t a convenience store. He doesn’t want you to call him up AFTER you drank or after you cheated on your test. He wants you to call him before. He wants you to know that you do need his help.
One of my friends posted a note about this topic. Here’s what he said: “Yesterday I became frustrated with the way things with Young Life were being handled. Our meetings never seemed to go anywhere and all we ever did was jokes and never actually get anything done… let alone on time. We did get things done but our meetings always seem to have a lot in them that was a waste of time. Having plans at 6:30 I was annoyed with the fact that the meeting had gone 15 minutes over. My plans had been disrupted and I never made it to what I had intended to be at that evening. After being brought to my senses I realized, later, that there are going to be times like this- where my plans don’t coincide with Christ’s. When we choose to follow Jesus he asks us to drop everything so that we may serve him whole heartedly. Taking a look back, were my plans really more important than a meeting where a bunch of committed Young Life leaders were discussing ways to improve our outreach of the news of Jesus to high schoolers? … Not really. No one was dying. No one was hurt. I was right where I needed to be and I didn’t realize that because I was so set on having things done my way. I very quickly realize that I need to ditch this way of thinking because following Jesus Christ will never fit into my schedule. The better way of thinking about it is that my way of doing things will never fit into His schedule. We who have decided to follow Christ need to offer ourselves as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1) and realize that our will virtually has no say in what God’s will is. If God wanted me to be at my other plans for that evening then he would have made a way. But I didn’t go. I didn’t make it. So what? I was doing what I was supposed to and if that’s good enough for Christ, well, then its good enough for me. “
So what do you think? Is Christ convenient? Is he your pick-me-up when your first of six rockstars in the morning don’t work? Is he your 2nd, 3rd, or maybe 5th friend that you talk to? If so, then he’ll remember that at the Rising. For me, I want him to be my all. So instead of just settling for “good” or “ok” go for the gold. Be Michael Phelps’ of doing more. Be the first, not the last to raise your hand for a question in science or health – even if you know it might be a long, controversial conversation. Don’t be afraid to stick up for your faith. Do know that nothing can separate you from God’s love: Romans 8:38-39. Don’t be ashamed if you get shut down by a teacher. You may have just planted a seed: 1 Timothy 4:12. Do know that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you: Philippians 4:13.
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