Today my roommate and I attended church on our first Sunday at Missouri State University :) After signing up with some campus ministries we had both been recieving texts about certain churches to check out. As we drove through looking for the "contemporary college church" we ended up at a Methodist church. Right off the bat it was obvious that it wasn't the church we recieved the texts about for we were the youngest people there by a good 40 years. Immediately we were mobbed by old person after old person introducing themselves to us. Showing us pictures of their college-student-grandchilren and reminding us of the homemade sweet rolls in the kitchenette. I explained to my roommate that it wasn't too soon to ditch, we still had a bible study to sit through and the church service wasn't for another hour, but we decided to stay.
It wasn't until I was sitting in a pue in pants that weren't 100% cotton with presentably brushed hair that I realized I wasn't at Gateway. It would've been easy for me to close my mind off and think about what my little church was doing out in Blue Springs and how cool we are because we don't wear dry cleaned clothes or have stained glass windows. Then it hit me: the same God that was at Point 11 with me three weeks ago is the same God that is sitting in this pue with me. The same God that hangs out in Hall McCarter on Wednesday lives inside of these AARP members in the chapel here in Springfield. Not for a second have I felt away from home because I know that God is my home.
The pastor proceeded his message in about shining our light, that without the Holy Spirit there is no hope for light. He showed us a flashlight without batteries and obviously, the flashlight didn't work. No one wants a flashlight without batteries; it's useless; just as we are without the Holy Spirit. There is no point in living if we're not doing it for a reason, whatever that reason may be. I made my decision known how I want to live my life in November of 2006 at Woods Chapel Bible Fellowship when I was baptized and I wrote down on a banner "I'm all in" at camp in 2010 in Colorado and people know, people saw.
"Obviously, I am not trying to win the approval of people but of God, if pleasing people were my goal I would not be a servant of the Lord" BUT those people are visible reminders to my commitment and I'm not going to let some actual pants and brushed hair on Sunday mornings make me forget that. My race isn't over, there is no time for a break, I haven't won the prize so I continue to beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached I myself will not be disqualified.
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