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Archives: August 2009
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Archives: August 2009
What the world says...
By Matt Nixon-James
So you are reading this, knowing who you are and what you want. You like that clothing brand and you wear those shoes. You like to style your hair in a certain way. You live in that area and go to that school. You have a Twitter, Facebook and just deleted your myspace because no one else does that anymore.
You like listening to certain bands and love watching movies, or maybe you don’t. You hang with your friends. Your friends like to hang out at the park, so you hang out at the park too. You like boys or you like girls. You like Starbucks, but not just the coffee. You like catching the train and are aware of your carbon footprint. You either eat meat or vegetables or both, or maybe only stuff that falls off trees. You are going green or maybe you think the mother earth stuff is a load of rubbish. Basically you walk your walk and you talk your talk.
Whether you like it or not the world has placed an identity upon your shoulders. It does this through great advertising campaigns, 2 for 1 deals at Tesco’s and red carpets. It’s one big machine that has a clever way of making us want to be something more, and want what everyone else has. The reality is that we are in this world, we want what the world offers but we’re also trying to follow Jesus. So, can we ever make the two work?
I have been wrestling with this question for a while. I believe that we are called to be examples to our friends. I believe that we have been given a gift that needs to be shared and I believe that we are called to be light in the dark places. But when I tell people about Jesus I get embarrassed, because, let’s be honest, telling people about Jesus isn’t the coolest thing to do at a party!
So, if doing the Great Commission should be a priority, why do I (and maybe you) struggle to do it? I think partly it’s about where we find our identity. The world we live in (and the identity we find in the stuff it promotes) generally can’t cope with doing things for Jesus, because when we do things for Jesus we put him first. The world tends to tell us to put ourselves first, but following Jesus is about putting him first. See the tension?
With this in mind I want to suggest that God has an identity for us… he has an original purpose for our lives but it is up to us to find it and live it out!
Let’s jump to the time of Moses. Here is a guy who was a prince-of-Egypt–turned-nobody in the desert, who hid from his past for 40 years. He had a stutter and looked after sheep, yet one day he is confronted by God. So he takes of his sandals and after a long chat with a burning bush, is sent to be the man to lead Israel out of slavery and into the Promised Land. A stuttering shepherd becomes leader of a nation of slaves! Moses gave up what the world saw in him and took on what God had in store for him.
Then there was this man called Zacchaeus (also known as Zach). He was known as a traitor to Israel because he was working for the Romans as a tax collector. He was not liked at all. People called him the notorious sinner - his identity was in his greed. Yet despite all of this we read that when he meets Jesus something amazing happened. Jesus sees through the crowds and calls to Zach who is sat up in a sycamore tree.
The interesting thing is that Zacchaeus means ‘pure’. In that one call and conversation we see Jesus calling Zach back to what he had been made for and who he truly was - someone pure, someone with integrity and someone with heart. One encounter with Jesus changes him. Zach readily gives up what the world sees in him and takes on what Jesus has in store for him.
Can you see what is happening?
These two people were known for something before their encounters with God. They had identities in this world but when they encountered God they were changed; both of them were willing to accept the new identity that God had in store for them.
In this crazy world in which our parents are worried about finances, where Brad and Angelina have just broken up and stuff is just going crazy, can we do what Moses and Zach did? I think it is possible. It is a journey that can begin now! Let’s start putting God first and handing over what the world sees in us and take on what God has in store for us!
Now, it is still okay to love fashion, Facebook and football, but it’s a problem when we let that stuff consume who we are! Let God consume who you are, because that is the best thing ever!
There is an awesome picture in Matthew 9v17.
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”
He has plans for us, but just like new wine needs a new wine skin so too does God need a new identity for us for his plans to flourish through us. We need to give up what the world sees in us and fully take on what God has in store for us.
About the author
Matt is 22 and hails from Durban, South Africa. He's a very nice chap who's been spending the best part of 2009 in Watford.
Soul Survivor is a Christian charity that puts on events for young people. Our registered charity no. is 1080720. We are also a company limited by guarantee in England & Wales. Our company registered number is 03991111, which is nice. Thanks for caring.
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