The Last Firsts

Entering your last year or last phase of something calls for many last firsts. In regards to my life at the moment (and numerous others around the country) this calls for the last firsts of your senior year of undergrad and boy are there many. You have your last first day of school, your last first club meetings, last first small groups, last first night of college ministry, and the list could continue. As I have began to realize how many of these "last firsts" I've been experiencing, legacy has been a recurring thought and idea upon pondering these events. And with it the question, "What legacy will I be leaving behind as I enter my next phase of life in May?"

What type of legacy would anyone want to leave? One where they're not well known but served greatly or one where they made a large impact on countless people? One where they were the top of their major or one where you just breezed through undergrad with minimal effort? The answer should lie where our lives lie, Christ. Our legacy should be Christ. We should be seeking to serve Him and glorify Him throughout the rest of ours and especially in the final moments of our time in undergrad. 

First and foremost through our final firsts and those moments and experiences following, we must continue to actively seek Christ through all aspects. He should be our motivation to succeed in everything. School and work are ways of glorifying Him. As we look into a future career or future schooling come the new journey in May, we must actively seek ways of glorifying Him through them. And with that, the stress of life and what we will do can weigh hard on us. It's a huge ordeal picking your life. But what a blessing it is to know our Lord is sovereign and as we seek to glorify Him we will be doing what we are called to do (1 Timothy 4:6, Matthew 6:33).

Next, we must be actively pouring into those around us. We are called to be in community with one another (Galatians 6:1-2). And we are called to reach the lost (Matthew 28:19-20). With each aspect we have duties as believers to uplift the body, and as we are the older generation now (strange concept considering I feel like I was entering a college campus just yesterday for the first time) to pour in the younger bodies, discipling and preparing them for the roles they will one day take as we depart. It is a beautiful thing to see a true biblical community at work encouraging one another, sharpening one another, and bearing with one another what this world brings against us as we seek to glorify God.

And because we are on a college campus, what better way to reach out to the lost? They surround us. We have been directly placed in classes and other venues with those who do not follow Christ and what an opportunity we have to bear witness to His name as we go about our daily lives. Let us hold fast to the truths of the Word and then live them that those around us might see Him through us and their hearst be changed to bring honor to the Father (2 Timothy 2:10).

Lastly, let us enjoy these last first. As I ended my last first bible study group with the brothers I'll be walking through life and the Word with this year, it was bittersweet. It's great to get started again and be able to pour into the body in this aspect but also sad realizing it is all coming to an end. This is why we must take hold of these moments and soak them in for all. Let us take hold of the opportunities afforded to us as God rightly sees fit and use them to glorify the Father, that he may receive the praise honor and glory of everything in our lives because of all He has bestowed upon us. Let our legacy be on our campuses how we lived for Christ and the words of John 3:30 be what we leave behind,

                                "He must increase, but I must decrease.”

21 and Counting: The Findings of True Community

Yesterday, I celebrated a milestone in my life of fully reaching adulthood as most would call it. As I reflect on the past 21 years of my life, I am overwhelmed with how God has moved and molded me into who I am today; and I look forward to see how He continues to do so as I continue on day by day into the next year of my life.

The striking thought of it all is the community He has surrounded me with throughout it all. My family has been incredible encouragement and support in whatever situation, from high school drama to the tough realities of the "college living" outside the comfort of home. They have stood firm in the Word and have been excellent examples of faith and how to live to glorify God in all things. Through them all I have learned a great deal and will continue to do so in whatever situation.

The second aspect of this community is the family in Christ I have found. Growing up in a Christian home and being a pastor's kid, I was always surrounded by believers and had that encouragement. It wasn't until I left home for college that I was semi alone. New city. New life. It was then for the first time I had to pursue this community myself. I had to seek and find my identity in the Lord without parental supervision, and it was all by His grace that I found community in my church and my campus ministry. Through these places, I have come to know incredible brothers and sisters in Christ that sharpen and push me to understand and have a deeper love of God.

Through both these groups, family and friends (but also considered family in a different context), I have seen the true importance of community in the Christian life. Just as we are called to reach out to the lost and we need to be actively sharing the gospel, we are called to gather and be with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are called to bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2) and seek to restore one another in love. As we pursue Christ, let us gather so that we may encourage one another in the faith, love one another, and celebrate with our brothers and sisters when it is a time for celebration, grieve in a time of grieving, and above all else, actively push one another in seeking Christ more with our lives and how our lives might be lived for His glory.

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV)