In the midst of our roller coaster type of lives it’s easy to get “caught up” in the busyness that so easily ensares us all. I know for me personally I get so distracted by being distracted that I distract myself from reality…if that makes any sense. In the season of busyness and especially in a season of school for me I tend to “fall asleep” to the great adventure that Christianity is! I’ve been anxiously looking forward to this break for the last couple of weeks simply because I could feel my walk with God had become lax, and I knew that with no responsibility (from school) I could spend most all of my focus on and in His presence! But I don’t want that to just be a summer and winter break thing–I want my relationship with the King to be a 24/7 walk hand-in-hand.

School is a great, and an often necessary, step to becoming the most well-rounded people we can be, but I think sometimes it becomes all that we “are”. We drift into becoming just students going to class, trying to make it through each day–it becomes our identity. Or if we aren’t going to school we become just a kid trying to work to make some money to get by–the work becomes who we are. BUT that’s not how it’s supposed to be!

Our identity rests solely in Christ. Our future, our past, our present is all wrapped up in Christ. Even in the midst of the pain Christ is reaching out to us to hold us and to be our fortress.

But how is it that we can rest our identity in Christ in the midst of school or work or sports or music or whatever we feel takes up most of our time? I think it comes from us never losing sight of or getting distracted from our walk with God. In the Message version of Hebrews 2:1-4 it states, “^1-4 It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off. If the old message delivered by the angels was valid and nobody got away with anything, do you think we can risk neglecting this latest message, this magnificent salvation? First of all, it was delivered in person by the Master, then accurately passed on to us by those who heard it from him. All the while God was validating it with gifts through the Holy Spirit, all sorts of signs and miracles, as he saw fit.” …It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off… What an impressive way to explain our walk with God. It is ABSOLUTELY VITAL that we continually come back to the recognition of humbly knowing that our Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection was the chain breaker to our sin and our shame. We no longer need to live as if Christ’s death was only so that we might be saved and that that’s it. No way. Christ’s death carries us all day, every day now! Instead of having to find some fulfillment by chasing another “joy” that this world so slyly offers up or even a dream that I have, I get to run full steam ahead towards Christ, and THAT is my identity. My identity is a Christ follower; a son of the one true God; a brother to the King, and through that identification my dreams become aligned to Christ’s dreams for my life. Amazing. Paul discusses in Romans 6 that “if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from he dead, no longer dies. Death no longer rules over Him. For in that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in that He lives, He lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (8-11) We no longer count our lives as part of this world, but having been raised with Christ, we are vessels of God’s Kingdom, alive to live for God.

Whatever we are now able to do is because Christ died for us and gave us the freedom to do them.

When we lose sight of our calling/our dreams/our purpose sometimes we forget how powerful that the life of living for Christ really is. We get tricked (actually more like lulled) into thinking that the dreams we have aren’t as important anymore and we push them to the back of our mind. It’s a human thing. We tend to focus our lives on what is right in front of us, and if school is right in front of us (speaking to myself) then that’s what I tend to pour my life into. Instead, I can give my life and my focus 100% to God AND STILL have great purpose in school and in sport, in work and in music (if I had any musical talent, but you get the point, I hope).

Imagine if we lived every day with the dedication that we will serve God and serve people with everything we have. How differently might the world look at us and how radical might our worldview change!

So, even in the midst of our busy lives we should never lose sight of our calling because our ultimate calling is to (1) LOVE GOD, and (2) LOVE PEOPLE–see Matthew 22:35-39.

So, that’s my challenge for you all, and especially for myself. To live with my lenses focused directly on Jesus, giving all my energy to His purpose.

Discover your dreams by giving your life and love over to Jesus.

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SM.