Many of you have seen the status update I posted on my Facebook page the other day.
"I've been starting each morning with a writing prompt for journaling asking silly questions (ie: if people walked like crabs what would life be like?). This morning I was preparing to put one on the board when a student made a suggestion for a writing prompt. "Can we write about what Jesus means to us?" My heart just about melted, and I've never audibly heard the voice of The Lord speak, but I think I did this morning. Now I'm reading all the testimonies about who Jesus is to each 2nd grader in my class. Wow. I'm still blown away how good God is!"
This little event really got some of my brain gears turning..
When is the last time an adult told me what Jesus means to them?
When is the last time I told someone (of my own accord and joy) what Jesus means to me?
Well, for starters..I should tell you that life on a missions base is full of "Jesus did this for me" conversations. I love how most anyone I bump into and ask casually about how their life has been will usually result in a spontaneous testimony of a victory they have seen in their life because of Jesus' intervention, or how the Lord has miraculously provided for them. My life is so full of the goodness of the Lord raining all around me, BUT just talking and being excited about the character and personality of Jesus is a bit different..
So, I want to tell you about what Jesus means to me. Before you tune out another "count your blessings" sermon, I want you to understand me.
I used to think God was boring, moody, and hard to reach. I used to think that He would only love me if I looked a certain way. I thought I had to play by a set of rules and jump through the right holes to have any hope in life. I thought that finding His will for my life was a good goal, but if I couldn't even keep these "rules" and look the right way that it would be just impossible find what He wanted me to do with my life.
That thought process began to build a layer of resentment in my heart toward me and every other "God-lover" out there because I was measuring myself up to their standards. The problem was that each person's standards were different and some cared what I did and how I felt, but most really didn't. If one girl seemed to find success in the eyes of the church then apparently she was a good "rule keeper" and somehow had the secret for jumping through hoops. I would immediately resent her for being "so good" at whatever it was she had. Then I would try to find the person who had done it wrong and obviously had a bad reputation so I could measure myself against her and feel satisfaction that I was doing better than her. You can imagine the gossip and malice that flourished in my world with this kind of mind set.
My conscience held me to a higher account than to openly rebel. My parents have taught me to respect authority, so I never obviously or broadly shared my disenfranchisement with this "good at God" act I thought everyone was trying to put on. But I secretly rebelled. It started in my heart. Viewing authority with resentment and being respectful to get under the radar. Then I began cutting corners when I thought no one was looking. I'd do what felt good to me when the coast was clear. I felt guilty. all. of. the. time. I thought every conversation with an authority figure would uncover the double life I knew I was living. I grew bitter, and in that bitterness grew a carelessness of my own life and value. I didn't trust anyone. This continued for quite a while. I made decisions for myself based off that world view. It continued until I reached a point of recognition of who I had become.
I looked in the mirror.
I looked in the mirror of God's Word to see (for myself, not just what a preacher told me) what I was apart from the LOVE of JESUS.
He told me that everyone has really messed up their lives. EVERYONE. Me..the girl that was really good at that one thing, and even applauded in church..the girl that has a bad reputation.. each of my authority figures I resented so much.
Then He told me that "people are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life" NOT when they dress the right way, or look a certain way, or even do the right things on a stage in church. He even said that it's THAT SIMPLE so that NO ONE can boast or brag about what they have done right in life to be right with Him.
He then told me that He wanted to transform me into a new person and change the way I think, SO THAT I could learn His will for my life. HE was going to do the work in my life, so HE could show me what I had been wanting to see, but felt there was no way possible to see it.
This was like water to my dry, cracked, and bleeding lips. A cleansing rain after walking for years in a dusty dry desert. This news SAVED MY LIFE. I had been believing a lie, and the truth had just been revealed.
So now, let me tell you what Jesus means to me!
Jesus means life. John 10:10 says, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." He didn't come to tell me to live in a box wearing all black all the time. He came to give me a life lived TO THE MAXIMUM! If anyone knows the value of one life to live, it's Jesus! He created me and has the whole exciting plan for my life!
Jesus means freedom. I am no longer bound by the chains of judgement and bitterness that once ruined every day I lived. I live in glorious freedom to walk out my salvation with joy and unbridled love for the MAN who died to one day be with me. I can freely love even the people that are rude to me, that do judge me, that do think I'm nutso because Jesus has freely put that love inside my heart for me to use. I am free from the consequences of sin as I walk in His footsteps leading me far away from the ditches I used to crash into emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Jesus means peace. Not the hippie, every one make love not war kind of peace. But the peace that doesn't make sense that stays in my heart when my life is no longer in my control; or when the world I used to live in has fallen away and I'm in a new place, with new street names, with new faces everywhere I go. Or the peace that stays near me when I have to have a tough conversation with someone and I can't control their reaction. I have that peace because I know the God of the universe who has EVERYTHING in the universe under His careful watch and protection.
Jesus means joy! Each one of the things I've listed gives me such incredible joy! Just talking about how good He is to me, and what He's done in my life brings me such absolute joy!
So back to the original discussion of how this subject was "prompted." One of my students wanted to write about what Jesus meant to her, and that afternoon as I read what my students wrote, I wept.
So, I've saved the best for last. Please, enjoy what my delightful students shared with me in their journals. Grammatically, it's not perfect, but in Jesus eyes, it's exactly what He loves to see.
"He gives me kindness. He gives me faith in hard times. He comforts me when I'm scared. God loves me when I feel like no one else loves me. He leads me when I'm lost."
"Jesus means goodness to me. Jesus means kindness to me. Jesus means peace to me. Jesus means gentleness to me. Jesus means helper to me."
"He's like my father, my heavenly father. He loves me for who I am. He protects me from Satan. He gives me the kindness. He loves what I do."
"I think that Jesus is awesome. I think that he is amazing. I like about him is that he created me. I think that he loves children. Jesus means to me that he is my King."
"I think he is a master. He is a Messiah. He is a savior. He is a prophet man. He is a kind and loving."
"Jesus means to me the Savior. Jesus means to me three in one. Jesus means to me creator. Jesus means to me my friend. Jesus means to me a good friend."
"I think he rocks. He is so cool. He is the best. He rocks so much. He is the best of all."
"He is my savior. He is the Christ. He is God's son. Jesus died for us. I love Jesus."
"I think Jesus is cool and awesome! Jesus protected me! He always mean something to me! Oh, he gets me out of traffic! Wow he does so many things for me! You should think about it! I wish I could be the same! It would be so cool! Do you know I wish everyone was sort of like God! That would be cool! It already is cool! I wish you could do the same!"
"I've been starting each morning with a writing prompt for journaling asking silly questions (ie: if people walked like crabs what would life be like?). This morning I was preparing to put one on the board when a student made a suggestion for a writing prompt. "Can we write about what Jesus means to us?" My heart just about melted, and I've never audibly heard the voice of The Lord speak, but I think I did this morning. Now I'm reading all the testimonies about who Jesus is to each 2nd grader in my class. Wow. I'm still blown away how good God is!"
This little event really got some of my brain gears turning..
When is the last time an adult told me what Jesus means to them?
When is the last time I told someone (of my own accord and joy) what Jesus means to me?
Well, for starters..I should tell you that life on a missions base is full of "Jesus did this for me" conversations. I love how most anyone I bump into and ask casually about how their life has been will usually result in a spontaneous testimony of a victory they have seen in their life because of Jesus' intervention, or how the Lord has miraculously provided for them. My life is so full of the goodness of the Lord raining all around me, BUT just talking and being excited about the character and personality of Jesus is a bit different..
So, I want to tell you about what Jesus means to me. Before you tune out another "count your blessings" sermon, I want you to understand me.
I used to think God was boring, moody, and hard to reach. I used to think that He would only love me if I looked a certain way. I thought I had to play by a set of rules and jump through the right holes to have any hope in life. I thought that finding His will for my life was a good goal, but if I couldn't even keep these "rules" and look the right way that it would be just impossible find what He wanted me to do with my life.
That thought process began to build a layer of resentment in my heart toward me and every other "God-lover" out there because I was measuring myself up to their standards. The problem was that each person's standards were different and some cared what I did and how I felt, but most really didn't. If one girl seemed to find success in the eyes of the church then apparently she was a good "rule keeper" and somehow had the secret for jumping through hoops. I would immediately resent her for being "so good" at whatever it was she had. Then I would try to find the person who had done it wrong and obviously had a bad reputation so I could measure myself against her and feel satisfaction that I was doing better than her. You can imagine the gossip and malice that flourished in my world with this kind of mind set.
My conscience held me to a higher account than to openly rebel. My parents have taught me to respect authority, so I never obviously or broadly shared my disenfranchisement with this "good at God" act I thought everyone was trying to put on. But I secretly rebelled. It started in my heart. Viewing authority with resentment and being respectful to get under the radar. Then I began cutting corners when I thought no one was looking. I'd do what felt good to me when the coast was clear. I felt guilty. all. of. the. time. I thought every conversation with an authority figure would uncover the double life I knew I was living. I grew bitter, and in that bitterness grew a carelessness of my own life and value. I didn't trust anyone. This continued for quite a while. I made decisions for myself based off that world view. It continued until I reached a point of recognition of who I had become.
I looked in the mirror.
I looked in the mirror of God's Word to see (for myself, not just what a preacher told me) what I was apart from the LOVE of JESUS.
He told me that everyone has really messed up their lives. EVERYONE. Me..the girl that was really good at that one thing, and even applauded in church..the girl that has a bad reputation.. each of my authority figures I resented so much.
Then He told me that "people are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life" NOT when they dress the right way, or look a certain way, or even do the right things on a stage in church. He even said that it's THAT SIMPLE so that NO ONE can boast or brag about what they have done right in life to be right with Him.
He then told me that He wanted to transform me into a new person and change the way I think, SO THAT I could learn His will for my life. HE was going to do the work in my life, so HE could show me what I had been wanting to see, but felt there was no way possible to see it.
This was like water to my dry, cracked, and bleeding lips. A cleansing rain after walking for years in a dusty dry desert. This news SAVED MY LIFE. I had been believing a lie, and the truth had just been revealed.
So now, let me tell you what Jesus means to me!
Jesus means life. John 10:10 says, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." He didn't come to tell me to live in a box wearing all black all the time. He came to give me a life lived TO THE MAXIMUM! If anyone knows the value of one life to live, it's Jesus! He created me and has the whole exciting plan for my life!
Jesus means freedom. I am no longer bound by the chains of judgement and bitterness that once ruined every day I lived. I live in glorious freedom to walk out my salvation with joy and unbridled love for the MAN who died to one day be with me. I can freely love even the people that are rude to me, that do judge me, that do think I'm nutso because Jesus has freely put that love inside my heart for me to use. I am free from the consequences of sin as I walk in His footsteps leading me far away from the ditches I used to crash into emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Jesus means peace. Not the hippie, every one make love not war kind of peace. But the peace that doesn't make sense that stays in my heart when my life is no longer in my control; or when the world I used to live in has fallen away and I'm in a new place, with new street names, with new faces everywhere I go. Or the peace that stays near me when I have to have a tough conversation with someone and I can't control their reaction. I have that peace because I know the God of the universe who has EVERYTHING in the universe under His careful watch and protection.
Jesus means joy! Each one of the things I've listed gives me such incredible joy! Just talking about how good He is to me, and what He's done in my life brings me such absolute joy!
So back to the original discussion of how this subject was "prompted." One of my students wanted to write about what Jesus meant to her, and that afternoon as I read what my students wrote, I wept.
Even children know how wonderful Jesus is.
"What Jesus means to me"
"Jesus means goodness to me. Jesus means kindness to me. Jesus means peace to me. Jesus means gentleness to me. Jesus means helper to me."
"He's like my father, my heavenly father. He loves me for who I am. He protects me from Satan. He gives me the kindness. He loves what I do."
"I think that Jesus is awesome. I think that he is amazing. I like about him is that he created me. I think that he loves children. Jesus means to me that he is my King."
"I think he is a master. He is a Messiah. He is a savior. He is a prophet man. He is a kind and loving."
"Jesus means to me the Savior. Jesus means to me three in one. Jesus means to me creator. Jesus means to me my friend. Jesus means to me a good friend."
"I think he rocks. He is so cool. He is the best. He rocks so much. He is the best of all."
"He is my savior. He is the Christ. He is God's son. Jesus died for us. I love Jesus."
"I think Jesus is cool and awesome! Jesus protected me! He always mean something to me! Oh, he gets me out of traffic! Wow he does so many things for me! You should think about it! I wish I could be the same! It would be so cool! Do you know I wish everyone was sort of like God! That would be cool! It already is cool! I wish you could do the same!"
So, the question remains..
What does Jesus mean to you?
Jesus is my Brother, my Guide, my Hope. Whenever I'm alone, He tells me that He's there; whenever I feel lost, He surprises me and says that He's found me. When I was walking astray, He moves my heart to show me, to convict me that I'm not going the right way and leads me to repentance. If I have forgotten who God is, He reminds me.
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful and true!! Thank you, Jonathan!
ReplyDelete