Bringing Heaven to Earth

On Friday night I talked to Jeff for an hour once again. I told him that I have no idea what I want to do with my life, and he suggested that Scripture has the answer. Huh? Scripture? I don't know any verse that says, "Brendan, I want you to do this..." We all read the same Bible, so we wouldn't we all pick the same career path. Just in the past day, I've been able to see what he meant.
This guy named J.R. Woodward, who pastors Kairos in Los Angeles, spoke at LT this week. He spoke about how Jesus came to earth not only to be the Savior of the world, but also to preach a message of social justice. For example, when he says in the Lord's Prayer, "thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," he wants us as Christians to make earth like a foretaste, or to use a California term, a movie trailer of heaven. Jesus also said that he brings good news to the poor, as should we.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:19 "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible." Then in Acts 20:35 "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" I think Scripture is pointing me to telling me to be a part of bringing heaven to earth by helping the poor or anyone who is underpriveleged. I wanted to do this through politics, but recently I've been trying to think of other ways. I may not have that answer for a little while, but I'm now halfway there at least .

I Saw Rebecca St. James!

On Monday night, I went to a Gospel Music Association concert. Our hike had worn everyone else out and Jeff was tied up with his project group so I had to go alone. I did not see anyone my age that I knew from the Y staff. I was one of two people under forty buying tickets on Sunday. There was a surprising number of empty seats. I guess the staff either didn't know or didn't care. Who would pass up an opportunity to see Rebecca St. James and others for $5? She was the only artist on the list I had heard of. Because her name was listed first, I thought I could just see her and walk out if I did not like the others. They made a good decision putting her up last.
The others were definitely worth hearing. The first artist was a guy named Aaron Shust. I did not realize that he was the guy who wrote and sang "My Savior My God," one of my favorite Christian songs. He said he came in 1998, and the GMA critics ripped his music apart. Now look at him. It was an inspiration to hear that. Then there was Shaun Groves, the funniest Christian speaker I've seen anywhere in quite some time. He also sings a song I had heard a million times, "Welcome Home." He introduced Rebecca St. James, remarking that she "kissed dating goodbye," alluding to her partnership with Joshua Harris in promoting purity. "And so did the girls I dated," added Shaun. "By the way, I didn't actually kiss dating goodbye," said Rebecca. I guess she didn't want all the single late 20's-ish men of God in the audience to think she was not interested.
I really went just to see Rebecca St. James, but the whole show was surprisingly very encouraging as well. It really made me love being a Christian. I have never disliked the Christian life per se, though feeling restricted at times by faith can be discouraging. But anyway, this concert really excited me in a way that I have not felt in a long time. It's kind of difficult to explain.
I have become obsessed with Christian music in the last few months. As my life becomes more complicated, I need the encouragement it gives me. Songs like "Wait for Me" by Rebecca St. James and "Praise You in This Storm" by Casting Crowns would have meant nothing to me six years ago. Now they and many others seem packed with meaning. The Joy FM's slogan is "helping you find joy," and I think it really does compliment the Bible to do just that.