Answering the Hard Questions
Leave it to a teenager to ask the hard questions.
It was Wednesday night this week. I was speaking to our youth group about the movie Moana and the spiritual lessons I took away from this animated kid's movie (Yes, even Disney can be a source for understanding God's plan for my life!). But that's a topic for another blog.
Somehow, and I honestly don't even remember how, the topic switched from Moana's courage and determination to follow what she knew was in her heart, despite all the odds being stacked against her, to the Biblical prophecies of the end times and the persecution that Christians will endure. Oh yes, I'm seeing my train of thought now. Seems like it went something like this...
"Moana didn't let anything keep her from doing what she knew in her heart was right."
"Like how we shouldn't let things like peer pressure keep us from following our passion for Christ?"
"Exactly! We need to be prepared because one day its going to be more than just peer pressure that we have to take a stand against. One day, possibly even soon, we'll be facing persecution as Christians. It's already happening in other parts of the world. We need to pray for courage to be faithful to Jesus even in the face of death or extreme suffering."
That's when Makenzie spoke up. Makenzie, whom I admire for her boldness. The one who's not afraid of speaking her mind, singing at the top of her lungs, or even being put on the spot. At the beginning of youth group this same evening, Makenzie and the other youth were leading worship. As one of the songs ended, she took a drink from her water bottle and, instead of setting it down, she bottle flipped it, landed it perfectly, and then took a moment to celebrate her success. Knowing she could handle it, I put her on the spot. I reminded the kids that worship was about Jesus, not about us, and told her to turn her boast into something about Him. Without missing a beat this teenager starts talking about how God can take a horrible day and give us something to smile about. By the end of her three minute speech, she had us all smiling and had done exactly what I asked - she'd made it about Him.
Now it was her turn to put me on the spot.
Here I am talking about praying to have the courage I might need someday to not deny my Savior, and she interrupts with, "Wait a minute! You're telling me, if someone came into your son's school and said, 'If you're a Christian I want you to stand up because I'm going to shoot you,' that you would want your son to stand up!?"
Like I said, leave it to a teenager to ask the hard questions. Suddenly, its not about me anymore. Its not me giving up my life; its me left with the suffering of losing my own child. Its the question of "Do I really believe what I say I believe so completely that I would tell my own son I wanted him to die when he could live by doing nothing?"
Don't get me wrong, I've had time to think about what I would do if I were in a school shooting situation; I'm a teacher. I love my students like they're my own. I've prayed often that I would have the courage to do whatever I needed to protect them or even sacrifice my own life as a martyr in order for them to see how much I value my Jesus. In fact, this past month I've experienced two nightmares that showed me vividly just how terrifying such a situation would be.
But Makenzie wouldn't let it be just about me. Did I mention my oldest was also in the room? For the first time that night, paying attention. How would I answer this question that I'd not allowed to even enter my mind before?
"Yes. Because eternity is far longer than our lives here on earth."
Some of you reading this may be thinking exactly what Makenzie did - that I'm a terrible mom. Not going to lie, that condemnation entered my head as well. But Jesus's truth remains, "Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it" (Matthew 16:25). Its a paradox. The truth is, we will all die. Yet, death, for being so certain, still takes us by surprise. Why? Why do we somehow think we can save something everyone before us has lost?
I choose instead to trust in Jesus and his promises. He is, after all, the one who, though once dead, now lives: He is the One who appeared to over 500 after his crucifixion and burial (1 Corinthians 15:6); the One whose closest disciples went from scattering at his arrest to proclaiming the gospel of his resurrection in spite of persecution and death, not a single one changing their story even decades after his return to heaven; the One who has changed the hearts and lives of countless millions over the past 2,000 years.
As Jim Elliot once said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."
Jesus has promised his followers eternity, even setting eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). In light of Jesus's promises and the evidence for His being exactly who He claimed to be, it would be foolish to cling to this life with all its sorrows, heartaches, and injustices for a few more years when given the choice between this life and the next. Which leads me to Makenzie's next question,
"Why not just stay seated? Who would know?"
Exactly! Who would know? Who would know the faith you place in Jesus Christ? The value of your love for him? Who would be convicted that there is more to Jesus Christ than what they ever considered before? Who would know that the life He offers is worth far more than anything this life offers? Who would have the opportunity to experience eternal life because of your stand for Christ?
Not only that, but you would know. You would know that you had denied Him. You would know that your faith hadn't been placed in Him in that crucial moment. You would have to live with that decision, likely turning away from your faith completely or questioning your salvation. You would be haunted by Jesus's words in Matthew 10:32-33, "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven."
Bad mom? No. I don't want that lifetime of questioning for my sons. I want God's best for them, even if that requires losing this life to gain eternal life. I want them to be certain of the right course of action and courageous enough to take it. I want them fearless, confident, relentless in their faith, passionate in their love, and safely secure in God's omnipotent hands. I want them to recognize that "our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" and to fix their eyes "not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). I want them able to recognize the difference between the eternal and the temporary - the genuine and the counterfeit.
I don't want them mastered by fear. I want them able to say as Paul, "I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day" (2 Timothy 1:12).
I want them to have an answer for the hard questions, the times they're put on the spot, the life-altering decisions that will either draw them closer to God or take them away from Him.
And I want that for you too.
It was Wednesday night this week. I was speaking to our youth group about the movie Moana and the spiritual lessons I took away from this animated kid's movie (Yes, even Disney can be a source for understanding God's plan for my life!). But that's a topic for another blog.
Somehow, and I honestly don't even remember how, the topic switched from Moana's courage and determination to follow what she knew was in her heart, despite all the odds being stacked against her, to the Biblical prophecies of the end times and the persecution that Christians will endure. Oh yes, I'm seeing my train of thought now. Seems like it went something like this...
"Moana didn't let anything keep her from doing what she knew in her heart was right."
"Like how we shouldn't let things like peer pressure keep us from following our passion for Christ?"
"Exactly! We need to be prepared because one day its going to be more than just peer pressure that we have to take a stand against. One day, possibly even soon, we'll be facing persecution as Christians. It's already happening in other parts of the world. We need to pray for courage to be faithful to Jesus even in the face of death or extreme suffering."
That's when Makenzie spoke up. Makenzie, whom I admire for her boldness. The one who's not afraid of speaking her mind, singing at the top of her lungs, or even being put on the spot. At the beginning of youth group this same evening, Makenzie and the other youth were leading worship. As one of the songs ended, she took a drink from her water bottle and, instead of setting it down, she bottle flipped it, landed it perfectly, and then took a moment to celebrate her success. Knowing she could handle it, I put her on the spot. I reminded the kids that worship was about Jesus, not about us, and told her to turn her boast into something about Him. Without missing a beat this teenager starts talking about how God can take a horrible day and give us something to smile about. By the end of her three minute speech, she had us all smiling and had done exactly what I asked - she'd made it about Him.
Now it was her turn to put me on the spot.
Here I am talking about praying to have the courage I might need someday to not deny my Savior, and she interrupts with, "Wait a minute! You're telling me, if someone came into your son's school and said, 'If you're a Christian I want you to stand up because I'm going to shoot you,' that you would want your son to stand up!?"
Like I said, leave it to a teenager to ask the hard questions. Suddenly, its not about me anymore. Its not me giving up my life; its me left with the suffering of losing my own child. Its the question of "Do I really believe what I say I believe so completely that I would tell my own son I wanted him to die when he could live by doing nothing?"
Don't get me wrong, I've had time to think about what I would do if I were in a school shooting situation; I'm a teacher. I love my students like they're my own. I've prayed often that I would have the courage to do whatever I needed to protect them or even sacrifice my own life as a martyr in order for them to see how much I value my Jesus. In fact, this past month I've experienced two nightmares that showed me vividly just how terrifying such a situation would be.
But Makenzie wouldn't let it be just about me. Did I mention my oldest was also in the room? For the first time that night, paying attention. How would I answer this question that I'd not allowed to even enter my mind before?
"Yes. Because eternity is far longer than our lives here on earth."
Some of you reading this may be thinking exactly what Makenzie did - that I'm a terrible mom. Not going to lie, that condemnation entered my head as well. But Jesus's truth remains, "Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it" (Matthew 16:25). Its a paradox. The truth is, we will all die. Yet, death, for being so certain, still takes us by surprise. Why? Why do we somehow think we can save something everyone before us has lost?
I choose instead to trust in Jesus and his promises. He is, after all, the one who, though once dead, now lives: He is the One who appeared to over 500 after his crucifixion and burial (1 Corinthians 15:6); the One whose closest disciples went from scattering at his arrest to proclaiming the gospel of his resurrection in spite of persecution and death, not a single one changing their story even decades after his return to heaven; the One who has changed the hearts and lives of countless millions over the past 2,000 years.
As Jim Elliot once said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."
Jesus has promised his followers eternity, even setting eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). In light of Jesus's promises and the evidence for His being exactly who He claimed to be, it would be foolish to cling to this life with all its sorrows, heartaches, and injustices for a few more years when given the choice between this life and the next. Which leads me to Makenzie's next question,
"Why not just stay seated? Who would know?"
Exactly! Who would know? Who would know the faith you place in Jesus Christ? The value of your love for him? Who would be convicted that there is more to Jesus Christ than what they ever considered before? Who would know that the life He offers is worth far more than anything this life offers? Who would have the opportunity to experience eternal life because of your stand for Christ?
Not only that, but you would know. You would know that you had denied Him. You would know that your faith hadn't been placed in Him in that crucial moment. You would have to live with that decision, likely turning away from your faith completely or questioning your salvation. You would be haunted by Jesus's words in Matthew 10:32-33, "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven."
Bad mom? No. I don't want that lifetime of questioning for my sons. I want God's best for them, even if that requires losing this life to gain eternal life. I want them to be certain of the right course of action and courageous enough to take it. I want them fearless, confident, relentless in their faith, passionate in their love, and safely secure in God's omnipotent hands. I want them to recognize that "our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" and to fix their eyes "not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). I want them able to recognize the difference between the eternal and the temporary - the genuine and the counterfeit.
I don't want them mastered by fear. I want them able to say as Paul, "I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day" (2 Timothy 1:12).
I want them to have an answer for the hard questions, the times they're put on the spot, the life-altering decisions that will either draw them closer to God or take them away from Him.
And I want that for you too.
Always on point Mashea ... And a great Mom!!!
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