Weekly reflections
"I am the way and the truth and the life"
-Jn.14:6
-Jn.14:6
Just a few years ago I was marching in D.C. with thousands of others while my fingers and nose were freezing. I was a first time youth minister and just getting my bearings on how to both chaperone and enjoy an event. I'll admit I leaned more on the chaperone side, but I did get to ask myself one very important question: "Why am I here".
Every good march needs a good cause, as I'm sure MLK would agree. MLK fought for civil rights, and now we are fighting for something even more basic: human rights... the right to LIFE. Let this sink in as food for thought- more importance is being given to political correctness these days than to protecting an unborn child. Hope is strong though. This year marks the 44th year that the March for Life has taken place. How many other groups can say they have marched for this long? Since some of us are unable to make the D.C. March this year, let us rally for our cause in the Tulsa March today and give voices to the voiceless children.
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When I was about 10, my dad got me a bow and arrow, and I thought I was king of the world. I would go into the backyard and shoot this cardboard box target stuffed with dead grass for hours. Being a huge Lord of the Rings fan, I would imagine myself as Legolas shooting Orcs.
When we are in the midst of accomplishing goals, we often attribute our successes to ourselves rather than God. In Luke, chapter 18, we see how the Pharisee's prayer consists in telling God how awesome he is compared to the tax collector praying next to him. Jesus ends the story with a powerful reminder: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted" (Lk.18:14). The tax collector, not the Pharisee, went home justified after praying that day. Let us pray to God that we may be humble like that tax collector! In the height of my excitement and narcissism, I shot an arrow straight into the sky to prove to my sister how cool I was... The arrow landed in the ground- just inches from where she stood. I haven't shot an arrow since. High School Youth Group pictured below: After reading the Gospel where Jesus settles his disciples' argument over who is the greatest, calms his jealous disciples, and rebukes James and John for their ridiculous anger; we concluded in youth group that the disciples all had unique personalities (Lk.9:46-56).
I remember taking the Myers-Briggs personality test in college and thinking that my personality explained everything about me and that I was in a sense "stuck" in who I was. If I buried my head in my phone during a conversation, I would blame it on the fact that I was an introvert. If I planned something poorly, I would claim that I couldn't help "going with the flow" as the spontaneous person that I was. My personality became a well of excuses that never ran dry. Thankfully, like the disciples, Jesus filled that well with his love. Our personalities are not meant to define us. They are meant to serve as springboards to love more daily. Take a moment today to thank God for how he made you- even thanking him for your weaknesses. He wants to shine through us in all the beautiful strengths and weaknesses we bear in the personalities he gave us. |
Spencer MoseleyYouth Minister Archives
January 2017
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