Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Ready to Fight

This past week I had the opportunity to spend 8 amazing days on retreat. Actually, no. The word "retreat" is the wrong word. Technically, yes, it was a religious retreat. But I don't think that it describes the true nature of this quality time with God. If I were to pick a word for this "retreat" I would call it a rally. A battle rally for the Lord. Sounds pretty intense, right? It was. And let me tell you, God was really working to get his troops ready for war.

Arming us with the Holy Spirit... YEAH! 


Let me describe to you my fellow warriors who gathered with me. 220(ish) college undergraduates from all over the country ranging in holiness from just baptized to living saint. Many among the throngs are characterized by their zeal for the Lord God Jesus Christ, evident in praise and worship, conversations, joy, and love. Coming from Texas, New Jersey, Minnesota, Florida, Arizona, and other various states, they all have a different standard of the "normal way to talk," but are united in their ultimate goal: to win the world for God. How will they accomplish this? By bringing the gospel to the country, one college campus at a time. They are willing to go out and live the gospel and to put Christ back in Christian.

So, right now you might be thinking... "gosh, all of these college students are wasting their youth! This is their time to have a little fun, not let religion make them into little goody two-shoes who won't be able to enjoy their college experience before they become real people in the world..." STOP. Don't think that. Nothing about this is a waste!! We are not being brainwashed nor are we doing this out of some sort of obligation. You might be wondering, what exactly makes a group of 220 college kids want to risk their comfort, social lives, pride, and reputation to fight for Christ? I have a couple good reasons.

First of all, well, I mean Jesus did like die to save us from our sins. But, you know, no big. People kind of forget about that one all of the time... (seriously... isn't that reason enough??) And secondly, the thing is, God let us in on a little bit of a secret. See, whether we acknowledge it or not, the whole world is actually in a giant war of good v. evil... God v. Satan... Us v. Sin. It's like aliens v. predators on steroids. And the scariest part is that people actually deny that it's happening! So, not only has God told us about this massive war, but He told us another secret: He wins. Period. Exclamation point. Pick a punctuation. Now you might be thinking, "hey now, hold the phone. So you're telling me you already know the end of the story?" Duh. Revelations. We all have access to it. Why does this always surprise people? I can't give you a play by play, but I get the main points: Jesus and Satan have an epic showdown, and guess who wins? We've been over this.

My money's on Jesus.


I know who wins this war. I want to be on the winning side. If God's love wasn't enough to set me on fire to live for Him (which it really is), then I'm still making the strategic decision and sticking with the side that will be victorious in the end.

Think I'm crazy? Well, all I have to say about that is I'd rather be crazy and fighting for a God who saves than going crazy trying to find happiness in a world without love. (God=Love... basic Christian equation). Because here's the thing: there's really nothing else worth fighting for.

2 comments:

  1. Sarah! You are amazing. Let's fight girl! I love your 2nd to last sentence:

    Well, all I have to say about that is I'd rather be crazy and fighting for a God who saves than going crazy trying to find happiness in a world without love.

    Truth wrapped up in a beautiful bow. I love you girl!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Haha thanks Michela! I love you too!

    ReplyDelete