I always imagined that my priorities between school and commitments to my church community would eventually conflict, it is no surprise. But this is excellent news because they must conflict or I am neglecting one of the two. The issue of conflict is a better issue to deal with than the issue of neglect in this case. The issue of conflict is wrestling with my discipline and balance. But an issue of neglect is well... deeper.
When it comes to this balancing act between school and church commitments I cannot stress enough the importance of trust.
Trust with classmates, trust with church friends, trust with close leaders.
Can I trust you to be responsible for your homework portion before we get together?
I like working with you guys because you guys are trustworthy.
Can you trust me that my witness in the classroom looks a lot different than your witness?
You are not alone. I am right behind you. You shout Christ, I raise His banner. Some are blind and some are deaf.
Can I trust you to truly love my friend for who he is and not treat him as another project titled "He needs to hurry up and get saved by doing X,Y,Z so I can move on to saving another unbeliever"?
He needs community, not more meetings. Love him with me.
Can you trust my wisdom and judgment?
You have seen me do my best to make my decisions biblically before. I'm still doing it.
Can I trust you to follow Jesus when it is this hard?
Do not give up. We will not let you give up on Jesus.
Do you trust me as I trust Christ?
I am at peace with my decision, I want you to accept it and be at peace too.
the desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus
you, my friend, know Drop shadows :)
ReplyDeletei'm learning a lot about trust here too. mostly though, through the inverse relationship of learning more about my inability to handle everything. God has shown me this community thing is not something i can one-handedly do - even lcgs and investing in people - i just can't do it on my own because my experiences only go so far. mm, so we have this team, borthers and sisters sharing the same vision to see the local church transform lives and giving themselves in whichever way possible. i've been on an incredible journey thus far. and I feel like you have been too - especially in getting back into the swing of life in school. can you believe you're like 3/5 done with this semester already?! :)
hope you are well bro