Tonight I took one of the youth on a Starbucks “date”. We occasionally spend some one-on-one time with youth outside of the church setting. For me, it’s usually when they initiate and most likely have something they want to discuss. I enjoy this because it lets me know that they trust me and feel comfortable enough to approach me about issues that they are dealing with. My one fear in being a youth pastor’s wife is that we wouldn’t be able to build solid, soul-tending relationships with the kids. Luckily, in the past 5 months, I’ve been able to form some strong bonds.
So, apparently she and her friend had been discussing issues regarding God and the Bible, etc. She had alot of questions such as, “How did it rain for 40 days straight? Why would God want to send people to Hell? How did people live for 900 years? How do I make myself believe?” These, unfortunately, have no solid answer…
I want so bad to be able to “help” her understand or “help” her believe…but, I know that this is something that she is going to have to work out between her and God. I can only pray for her and hope that God’s plan includes her salvation. She struggles with people in her life that give her reasons NOT to believe. All of these reasons are things that NOBODY can explain. I tried to explain to her that it’s not about knowing all of the “facts”, it’s about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s not above proving something right or wrong, it’s about knowing that your salvation and “newness of life” is something beyond “you and any human ability”. It’s about knowing that everything about this world and creation is beyond human thought. It’s about knowing, without a shadow of a doubt, that the Holy Spirit lives within you. It’s about living every day, every breath, every action for the Glory of God. It’s about life change, heart change and not trying to understand it all…
She wants so bad to “get” it, but she can’t just wake up tomorrow and decide that “today is the day I’m going to believe”. Jesus Christ has to hit her heart. But, she also has to allow him the opportunity to “speak” to her (through His word, through Godly relationships, and through prayer).
My heart aches for her desire but I can only pray that the continual love that I have for her and my fervent prayer for her salvation will one day be seen in her surrendering her life completely to Christ.
The greatest peace I know is the everlasting love and grace of Jesus Christ…
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Christie is a stay-at-home mom to two beautiful little girls, a pastor's wife, and lover of Jesus. Her hope is that STC would be a source of encouragement for women all over the world!
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