Last night we completed our five weeks of the Journey's course. Journey's is a kind of "Introduction to Christianity" type course - encouraging people to ask the question "Is there a spiritual side to me?" and "What would that look like if there was?".
Our entire small group are Christians - many of them have been for quite some time in fact. Our small group leader (also our Corps Officer!) decided that it would be good for some of us who (like me) have never done it before, as we use it quite a lot with people who want to know more about God and Jesus - and in many cases, it has lead to these people making a decision not only to follow God, but to become members of our church.
But I digress. As I mentioned, we are already Christians in our small group, so as we completed our course last night, and the final question on the DVD is "Are you willing to giv this Christianity thing a try?!" - well we've already done that, so the question for our group inevitably moved to our own conversions. One of my friends from church and I are both Pastors Kids (well I'm an Officers Kid). We don't really remember our conversion being that big of a deal - except of course for our parents - but more just a natural progression in our journey. We both talked about how growing up we heard these amazing conversion stories, of people who were prostitutes and had a blinding light experience where they became Christians and their lives instantly changed. I mentioned when I heard those stories growing up, I was always jealous that for me, I didn't have a special story - I just was asked in Sunbeams one night if I'd ever asked Jesus into my heart, and I said not out loud, so I did. But there was no dramatic change, because for me - Jesus had always been a very important part of my life.
That was when Liz posed the question - "Do you think we need to hear more ordinary stories?". What an a-ha moment for me! Yes we do need to hear more ordinary stories! You see for kids like Liz and I - we were never able to connect with those dramatic conversions - we were in awe of them - but they didn't speak to us. And if there are a large chunk of kids out there who are the same - who's lives aren't bad, who's lives aren't full of neglect and abuse and pain - then where are the stories that resound with them - the stories of "ordinary" people leading "normal" lives who recognized that there was a spiritual side to them that could only be filled by Jesus.
And why are we, who had "ordinary" lives and conversions, not as willing to jump up and shout and tell that story to people? We have been fed the lie that our conversion, that our spirituality, that our story - is not as valid because it wasn't as miraculous - but the thing is - it is valid and it is miraculous!
If you make a decision at 8 years old to follow Jesus, and you're still following Jesus at 9 years old - that's a miracle. If you make that decision at 8 years old and you're still following at 28 years old - that's a miracle! If you made that decision at 8 years old and you are still a Christian at 58 years old, that's a miracle! You are a living saint. Because you still have a choice. Every single day, you have a choice. You can choose to allow Jesus to be part of your life, or you can choose to go through life on your own. Your life is not ordinary. My life is not ordinary!
And you know the first people that would celebrate that fact with you - those with miraculous conversions! I've known many addicts and prostitutes and abused people who have come to know Jesus - and they realized how much of a difference He has made in their lives. And many of them - if not all of them - would say they wish they'd met Jesus at 8 years old and walked their whole life with Him!
So you living saints out there - celebrate your ordinary conversion! Tell people about it! Celebrate your ordinary lives - because in God's eyes - your life is so much more than ordinary!!!!
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