You know, I'm aware that I should be writing about the Christ Child being welcomed to our world. I'm sure I could spend some time blogging about the great mystery and wonder of how our redemption story began on that first Christmas day.
But I just couldn't let this one go.
In The 705, we just finished a 3 Week Series called "One Month to Live". The question is, "What would you do if you had one month to live." I challenged our teenagers to several things these past three weeks.
Live like you're dying...if the doctor were to give you 30 days to live, you'd begin to prioritize your life. You would spend time with those who mean the most to you. You would do things that truly matter. You would begin to think about how you can change the world, both in small ways and huge ways.
Why wait until you've been given a death sentence to start changing the world?
Love like you've been forgiven...let's not lose sight of the great work of grace that was accomplished by Jesus on the cross. We say forgive and forget...let's forgive and remember. Remember that we were once completely separated from God, but he pursued us and ransomed us. Remember that the cross stand between you and eternal suffering. Remember that your sin held you in bondage, and Jesus saved you for no other reason but that you are treasured by God.
Can we love the way He loves?
Leave a legacy that matters...I have to apologize first to all of the students that suffered from my incredibly convincing speech last Wednesday about how I'm dying...in the year 2058. But seriously, you are creating your legacy even now. Everything you do, say, and accomplish will add to or subtract from the legacy that you leave. Will you be remembered for nothing at all? Will you remembered for what you could have done but didn't? Will you be remembered for all you accomplished that, in the end, amounted to nothing? Will you be remembered for changing the world in a way that continues and rings out through the halls of eternity? Don't waste your life talking about "someday". Stop aiming and shoot.
What I want to see at Re:Generation Student Ministry, more than anything else in the world, is a group of students who are living as though tomorrow may not come. A group of students that has embraced the fact that life is a mist that is here for a small while and then gone. It's not about death at all. It's about life.
And it's not about living long...it's about living well.
This holiday season, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, don't waste the time you have with the people you love most. Make it count for eternity. Encourage them in their faith, if faith they have.
Lead them to the cross, if faith they have not.
Til the whole world knows,
Pastor Kevin
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