Out Of The Mouth of Babes

I was IM'ing with with one of of the teens from SFUMY last night and she got all up in my grill and asked me about my spiritual life-all accountability like. I was shocked, a little bit put off, but mostly proud as heck of her.

So this morning I was having my quiet time on the porch and read a few quotes that are really pushing my meditation engine.

"The world does not understand theology or dogma, but it understands love." - D.L. Moody

""As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples." - Jesus Christ

So I want my day to day living to be defined by love but when I reflect on recent day to days I see nothing out of the ordinary to that effect. I need to be more than nice, polite and good. I need to be different - LOVE. How does Jesus love us? He lays down his life for us. So I need to, let me get this right, lay down my life for my fellow Christian sister and brothers? What does that mean? What does that look like for me and in my day to day?

Look at the word Jesus uses -MUST; it's not a suggestion but a "gotta" - a command. Do we as Christians take the King seriously or, because He is different than us and not of this world, do we tend to live without fearing/honoring Him and His command(s)? Whew! This is tough stuff for my meditation gears.

So thanks to R. for pushing me and Jesus for reminding me how much He loves me. I just can't get my head around such love, yet alone what it means to love other Christians in the same way.

R. asked me if Youth Ministers even needed to have quiet times because they are always praying with people and preparing for Bible Studies and such. I told her Youth Ministers need times with Jesus even more because of such things. If we don't have them then it all becomes a "job" and just the "work" we do and we loose sight of the fact that it is always about a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus.