I would say one of the biggest aspects of Christianity that I have been learning about is fellowship and my role in the body of Christ. I went into this summer with the mindset of "How can I be filled? What can I get out of the body? and how will this help to serve MY walk with the Lord?" and I continued this mindset all throughout Ocean City and I was filled. The fellowship was amazing. The community served and loved me so well. Everyone on project desired to pour into me and to help me grow and I did. It was the greatest community of believers that I have ever been surrounded by...so leaving this community proved to be REALLY hard for me. I came back to school looking for this community. I came back asking the same questions, "Where can I be filled? How can I be filled? How can I be served?" Every inch of me longed for this fellowship that I experienced in Ocean City, but I couldn't find it. There was nothing that could even come close to resembling what God has given to me this summer. So I became frustrated and angry with the fellowship because I wasn't being filled. I wasn't being served the same way and so I became removed from the body here at U of I, which made it even harder for me. What a blessing the first few months of school were for me. It was hard, but God taught me so much. He showed me that all I was thinking about was ME. Looking for how I could be filled, what I could get out of the body. I was being selfish and sinful. Jesus Christ came to serve, not be served. He served the body to the point of death on the cross. This was REVOLUTIONARY in my understanding of who I am called to be a follower of Christ and as a member of the body of Christ. I am not here to be filled, but with my life fill, serve and share the love of Christ with those around me. The past few weeks have been a pursuit of this revolutionary lifestyle, and it is amazing how God works. It has manifested itself in the way I lead my bible study, how I interact with my friends and how I look to serve the body. By taking the focus off of myself and placing it on Christ and how I can fill up those around me, I have been filled. Filled even more than I was in Ocean City. Its been wonderful to learn this and crazy to see how God was teaching me this in Ocean City even before I realized He was.
The second big thing that I am coming to realize is the importance of an evangelistic lifestyle. I went into the summer not really knowing how to share my faith. I had this idea that evangelism was an activity that someone does for 2 hours once a week. This is not what followers of Christ are called to. We are called to share Christ with the world and that requires a lifestyle of evangelism, not a 2 hour time block. Every aspect of our lives should point others towards Christ, not just an activity that we do. This has changed the way I go to class, the way I interact with the people that live in my dorm and the way that I look at every single conversation that God blesses me with. It is amazing how the more we are available to God, the more opportunities He gives us to share the gospel and Christ's love with people. I pray that I would continue to grow in this area, that the gospel would be so apparent in my life. I pray that I would constantly look for and act upon the opportunities He gives me.
The last thing that I am going to comment on is a HUGE topic...my life. Going into the summer I really had no clue what the future held for me. Now I still have no clue what God has in store for me, but I do know that I want it to be a life that above all else serves to glorify Him. I gave my summer to Him and He showed me that He is not worth just a summer but my life. I want to glorify Him as a student, as a bible study leader, as a friend, a member of the body, as a son, eventually as a husband and father and whatever other roles He will give me. I do not know where He will have me after college, but I am lifting my future up to Him. I praise the Lord for this summer, I will never be the same.
