Post by: Samantha Ho
Dear group of 20-somethings (also known as my small group),
I sat there, somewhat uncomfortably on the ground, trying to take in every word each of you shared during our very rare time of being together. I wanted to be a good listener, devoting all my attention to you, but I admit it was hard to fight the temptation of distraction. The theme of our sharing was very loud and clear: life is hard. Being a 20-something, young woman of faith striving after a purpose-filled, God-glorifying life is hard.
We juggle so much. Just between the 12 of us, we're learning how to get through school, how to maximize our work, how to balance all our relationships (parents, siblings, church, coworkers, classmates, old friends, new friends, boyfriends, random church babies--whose babies? Who cares they're cute--and so much more), how to deal with painful loss, how to deal with change, how to just deal with life full of pressure and expectation, how to live sold out for the Lord...how to just live.
The concept of living is so interesting, don't you think? As we bury our minds week after week in the imagery presented in Revelations, we realize that soon, living is going to come to a chaotic, but beautiful end. Do we understand yet, that to die is to live? Without death, can we be protected from judgment? Without death, can the fullness of God's glory be shown? Without death, can there be eternal life? Our living is marked by the blood of the Lamb who sits on the throne. The blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his... Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:5, 8-11
If Christ died for us... If Christ lives in us... then maybe we should live like it. Maybe this life we're fighting so hard to get a hold of is a life we need to fight to let go of.
We can will ourselves to do so many things, like checking off boxes on our to-do list and planning out our lives, but we cannot will ourselves to have a heart that truly embraces Christ. The only way to have a life that responds to God's Grace is to have a heart that responds. The thing that beats inside of us, not just the physical but also the emotional and spiritual heart that drives us, needs to beat with and for Christ. We have to live with Christ. Because life is hard.
How can we beat with Him unless we know what beats inside of Him? What drives Him? His purposes and plans, and even His life? How can we live if we don't understand the death? The death of our very own plans for our future, goals and wills, a death of our timetables and expectations.
We have the Spirit living inside of us. We don't need to be consumed by all the things in this life that distract us from real life. We have a God that can do anything and everything, and everything is under His perfect, absolute control. My challenge to us, small group, is to live believing this truth. Can we do this together?
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hopethat the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. – Romans 8:18-24
Sam is a lover of Jesus, working as a strategic planner by day, and a graphic designer by night. Running off of chocolate, Sam loves to spend her time savoring the intricacies of life with others, immersing herself in words, art, and plenty of good food. She has witnessed the strengths and weaknesses of the Asian American church, and has a heart to help build up this generation to be strong in faith and equipped with Truth and Grace. Her ultimate aim is to encourage others to love and cherish Christ even more.