So this past week I turned 20. That's terrifying. A friend nicely reminded me that this is the decade where so many important life changes will probably happen, such as graduating college, grad school, job in the real world, possible marriage and starting a family...STAHP. Why can't I go put on some footie pjs and watch cartoons?
Life can get crazy, but how in the world can someone get through the craziness without Christ at the center? Let's look at the life of Joash and decide if we want to make the same choices as him, or go down a better path. (found in 2 Chronicles 24)
So if we think our lives are crazy, Joash became king when he was SEVEN. What's weirder than that? He actually did a pretty good job of keeping focused on God even under all that pressure! The prophet Jehoiada seems to have been a pretty good role model for Joash, because the young king did "what was right in the eyes of the Lord" all through Jehoiada's life. After that...? Well, the king may have gotten involved with the wrong crowd and committed a murder or two. That's a problem.
That's an extreme version of what college can be like. When we are younger, we have our parents, teachers, youth group leaders, and other people to look out for us. It's easier to live for Christ because we have constant reminders of how to act right in front of us. Day to day life goes on, and being the good church kid can be pretty easy.
So then we get tossed from our safety nets and enter college. Where are the adults!?...Wait they are right here. That's us. The adults. We are the ones making the decisions now. While we can follow the advice of our parents all we want, we control our own actions. We can choose to completely run away from God, and there won't always be someone to stop us. We can get involved in any kind of lifestyle we please, but what good will that do?
Let's go back to our story: Joash was murdered in bed because people knew he was evil. Yikes.
With everything crazy going on in life, do we really want to live in fear of consequences of poor lifestyles? While I'm hoping our decisions won't be as intense as Joash's, we are all still sinners and each will make our own mistakes. While we will sin and decide our own actions, I would much rather go into the future knowing I'm attempting to take each step down God's path. He knows what's best for me, so why would I want to blindly walk down my own path knowing it won't lead anywhere as awesome as what Our Father has in store?
To sum up the story, Joash started out following God, but when he strayed things didn't turn out so well for him. I don't know how this whole "being an adult" thing works, but I know it's much less scary if I'm living life on God's side. I'm so thankful for the Christian influences that have been in my life, but learning about God can't stop here. God gives us incredible people to look up to and grow from, but it's our responsibility to become the people God is calling us to be.
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:14-15)
Life can get crazy, but how in the world can someone get through the craziness without Christ at the center? Let's look at the life of Joash and decide if we want to make the same choices as him, or go down a better path. (found in 2 Chronicles 24)
So if we think our lives are crazy, Joash became king when he was SEVEN. What's weirder than that? He actually did a pretty good job of keeping focused on God even under all that pressure! The prophet Jehoiada seems to have been a pretty good role model for Joash, because the young king did "what was right in the eyes of the Lord" all through Jehoiada's life. After that...? Well, the king may have gotten involved with the wrong crowd and committed a murder or two. That's a problem.
That's an extreme version of what college can be like. When we are younger, we have our parents, teachers, youth group leaders, and other people to look out for us. It's easier to live for Christ because we have constant reminders of how to act right in front of us. Day to day life goes on, and being the good church kid can be pretty easy.
So then we get tossed from our safety nets and enter college. Where are the adults!?...Wait they are right here. That's us. The adults. We are the ones making the decisions now. While we can follow the advice of our parents all we want, we control our own actions. We can choose to completely run away from God, and there won't always be someone to stop us. We can get involved in any kind of lifestyle we please, but what good will that do?
Let's go back to our story: Joash was murdered in bed because people knew he was evil. Yikes.
With everything crazy going on in life, do we really want to live in fear of consequences of poor lifestyles? While I'm hoping our decisions won't be as intense as Joash's, we are all still sinners and each will make our own mistakes. While we will sin and decide our own actions, I would much rather go into the future knowing I'm attempting to take each step down God's path. He knows what's best for me, so why would I want to blindly walk down my own path knowing it won't lead anywhere as awesome as what Our Father has in store?
To sum up the story, Joash started out following God, but when he strayed things didn't turn out so well for him. I don't know how this whole "being an adult" thing works, but I know it's much less scary if I'm living life on God's side. I'm so thankful for the Christian influences that have been in my life, but learning about God can't stop here. God gives us incredible people to look up to and grow from, but it's our responsibility to become the people God is calling us to be.
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:14-15)
Well said, Amanda!
ReplyDelete