On the 23rd it was my turn to speak for chapel. When I began I said a prayer and then told the students to listen very carefully. I was going to ask them some questions and expect raised hands and answers. First I read Colossians 1:12-17:
12 Give joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Who created all things? Jesus created everything. He is the creator. He created even you!
Next I read Psalms 139:13-16
Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother's womb.
I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The plans of my life all prepared
before I'd even lived one day.
How are we made? Marvelously!!
How much does Jesus know about you? Everything!!
The students where doing excellent.
I asked them to think about the other things that Jesus has made. Think about the snowflakes… they are so tiny but they are so exact and perfect in the angles of each molecule. They are exquisite. Think about flowers and trees in the summer; how all the little veins on the leaves go exactly where they should so the tree doesn’t get thirsty. Even, think about things outside of nature, like when you’re playing basketball. Think of all the elastic properties in the ball that allow it to bounce and the physics behind what lets the ball come back down from the basket. Jesus made all of this! How intricate and beautiful these things are especially when we take time to look closely. These things are incredible!!
Next I had the students do something and you can too. Raise your right hand. Turn it over so the palm is facing up towards your face. Now, bring it up close enough so you can examine the tips of your fingers. Can someone please tell me what you see on the tips of your fingers? As I had anticipated, some students took this as a chance to get silly and started getting distracted, but I quieted them down and the answer was, ‘finger prints’, little ridges. These ridges help you grip things and feel things and are completely unique to you. Your fingers are just as intricate as the flowers and snowflakes and even elastic. Your entire body is just like this, inside and out, the visible pars and the invisible parts.
So, when I say the invisible parts, what do you think I’m talking about? Your very person; the part that thinks, and has wishes and thoughts, and likes and dislikes. Jesus made that too! And you are just as intricate and delicate and complex as the things we see in nature and all around us. Jesus made you! He knows you! He knows every crawlspace and corridor of you heart. He knows you more than you can even think about, more than you yourself could even try to know.
Next, I want you to think for a moment about the friends that you have that you consider to be your best friends… What qualifies them to be your best friends? Can someone give me some reasons? They go out of their way for you, they are always there for you. They know you better than just an ordinary friend. They accept you just as you are.
So, from these reasons, what can we now qualify Jesus as? Our bestest of best friends!!! What incredible news!
Do you talk to your best friends? Of course you do. That’s what friends do. So, if Jesus is our bestest of the best of all of all our friends, then what a privilege it is to talk to Him! And we can talk to Him about everything and anything and at any time!
This brings me to Philippians 4:6:
‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.’
We shouldn’t hold anything back with Jesus. He knows everything anyway, so we don’t have anything to lose. He loves us no matter what, as our best friend. Nothing will surprise Him.
Now, I think I might know what some of you are thinking, because I’ve felt it too. It can be hard to talk to Jesus, especially if it means saying more than, ‘Dear Lord, thank you for today, thank you for my food, please be with my family and friends, help me with my homework, please forgive my sins, Amen.’ Now, don’t get me wrong, this is not inherently a bad prayer, but our prayers should also go much deeper.
When you’re in a new place and you’re meeting people for the first time, what does it feel like? What are some examples? Awkward, uncomfortable, unfamiliar… Knowing that Jesus knows us super well might not make it easy at first to talk to Him. It might feel awkward, or uncomfortable, and unfamiliar. But I want you to try something the next time you talk to Jesus. Try it tonight, or tomorrow morning. Even if you feel like a complete idiot for talking to what might feel like empty space in your brain or the walls in your room. Sometimes praying out loud helps, personally I prefer this way... I want you to pretend. Pretend that you are already friends, pretend that you have known each other for years. Pretend that you go way back. Ignore the feelings of awkwardness. Even if it doesn’t feel right, just keep on pretending.
This is essentially what you do when you’re meeting new people as well. You pretend that you know each other already and then eventually, after a while you’re not pretending anymore. Now, you do know them, and now you’re being real with them. This also can happen with Jesus. Jesus already knows you. But if you keep talking to him, even if it feels artificial, it will start to become real because YOU will start to get to know HIM. You might think that is a little different because you’re the only one talking but, Jesus can talk to us. He talks to us through other people sometimes and by guiding our thoughts sometimes and also when we read His Bible. Those are a few of the many ways He talks to us. And the more you talk to Him the more comfortable you will be and eventually you will KNOW He is your friend instead of just UNDERSTANDING it. And He will mean all the world to you!
I’m telling you this because I’ve done this, and Jesus is now my everything!!
He’s my reason for getting up in the morning and living each day. He is the reason I keep going when things are extremely hard. He is the reason I have hope when I’m weighed down with sadness and even depression. Jesus is who gives my heart wings when I’m happy! His love for me is what fuels the very essence of my being…
I want each and every one of you to have that very same thing.
And so, as I close, I want to encourage you to talk to Jesus. Just try it. Please, just try it for a couple days, a couple of weeks. It can be about anything, like, ‘Jesus, so I was at the store today and I saw this guy with this crazy hair style!’ or, 'Jesus, I had a hard time sleeping last night and I really don’t want to go to school today.’ Or, ‘Lord, how does the guy with the snowplow get to work in the morning?’ or, ‘Why is it called a building when it’s already built?’ or more seriously, ‘How can I get along with so and so?’ or, ‘What should I do with my life?’
I encourage you to ask Him questions, you’d be surprised at how He answers sometimes. Often times I’ve asked Him a question and I’ve even forgotten about asking it but then sometime later I believe He’s used things and experiences in my life that’s helped me find the answer. I’m still waiting for some answers, and I’m content I’ll find them at the right time.
If you do this, you can and will get to know Jesus, even if at first you’re only pretending to know Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment