The Schelbs

Have you ever heard Francis Chan speak? If not, find him on iTunes and listen to him. I want his passion for Christ. Every time I listen to him, I feel like I'm listening to a man who gets what it means to follow Christ in every aspect of life. This is something that is being renewed in me...the passion for Christ and the desire to be like Him.

Over the past year or so, I think I was so concerned with keeping my head above water, that I let my desire to be like Christ just disintegrate. It's not that I wanted it to, but it happened. As I read the above sentences the image that pops in my head is that of cotton candy. (Bear with me on this.) I love cotton candy! It tastes so good to me. Just pure sugary goodness. But inevitably when the bite hits your tongue it begins to disintegrate. It's not that you want it to disintegrate, it just happens. That's been me concerning my relationship with God.

Thankfully, this passion is being stirred again in me. However, it's weird too because with this new found passion, is a sense of urgency and desperation for this nation and world that I have never felt before. I feel excited and at a lost simultaneously. I mean, I want to live a life worthy of Christ's death and resurrection. I want to have a life so dedicated to God, a life where I am walking so closely to Him, that people are drawn to Him simply by my life. But, I feel so small. How in the world can I make a difference?

I was grappling with this question as I listened to Francis Chan this morning, and not more than an hour later, I found myself in a conversation with one of our students from church. She rarely talks at church, but through text messaging she really opened up about some tough family stuff she's dealing with currently. As I tried to encourage her, I had a sense that I was making a difference.

I means isn't that ultimately all we have to do to make a difference? Encourage others...encourage them in their walks with Christ, encourage them to find salvation, give up a little bit of our time to help others, to seek out the hurting and offer them hope? I'm not nearly as profound as Chan, nor will I probably ever be. But I desire the same thing as Him. To be as much like Christ as possible. To live a life worthy of His death and resurrection.

I urge you today, to begin to seek those moments where you can encourage someone. Maybe a smile, maybe a word of encouragement, maybe cancelling some plans to meet with someone who really needs to feel like they matter in the world. May our lives be filled with an urgency to reflect Christ...