This last weekend, 11 freshman stood in front of our congregation, affirmed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and expressed their intention to journey with our church through life, at least until they move away for college. As part of this moment, we anointed each student with oil and said, “Because you belong to Christ, you belong to us, and we belong to you.” It was incredibly beautiful. Before the service, I had an opportunity to have a brunch with all the students and families. During our time together, I shared a letter I had written to the students, a letter fashioned after the epistles we find in the New Testament. I wanted students to know that Scripture didn’t come out of a vacuum, but was written by real people in response to real situations. I wanted the students to be encouraged, but also challenged and exhorted. And I wanted the students to sense God’s love for them, his deep and unfailing love. So in the spirit of the epistles, I wanted to share it here, to send this letter abroad to “the other churches in the Diaspora.” May this encourage and challenge you and may it ultimately direct your heart, soul, and mind towards Jesus Christ!
To the 2014 NextStep Confirmands,
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are so thankful for each and every one of you, for the person God has created you to be, for the ways you love and care for one another, and for teaching us, whether you realized it or not, more about God’s beauty and grace. Every moment together has been a gift from God.
As our time together comes to a close, we want to remind you of a few things we’ve journeyed through. Together, we marveled at the majesty, the brilliance, the all-consuming awesomeness of God. May you live in a constant awe of God, knowing that to enter into his presence is to stand on holy ground. And when you find yourself in that holy place, may you remember to take off your shoes!
And together, we were comforted by the knowledge that God intimately knows us, cares for us, and is near to us, like a father or mother. May your reverence and awe of God never keep you from holding him at arm’s length. May you have the wisdom and discernment to tread the fine line between awe and comfort, reverence and friendship.
Together, we were confronted with the mind-warping, life-changing, earth-shattering reality that Jesus was and is God-with-skin. Remember our math equation? 100% man + 100% God = 100% Jesus. The person of Jesus makes for a great Savior, but not a great math teacher. May you never presume that “no one understands you,” but in those dark moments, may you know the love and light of Christ that dispels darkness.
Together, we kneeled before the cross and struggled to comprehend how Jesus would taste the sting of death on our behalf. We wrestled with God and each other, trying to make sense of the goodness of God in light of the encompassing pain of the world. May you continue to be unsettled by the suffering of Jesus and of man. May you find a home in the wounds of Jesus. And may you always know that, just as Jesus defeated death and conquered the grave, in God’s world, life, joy, and grace is always the final word. Always.
Together, in our time with each other, we learned that God’s people think differently, are incredibly diverse, and can sometimes be kind of obnoxious. We may not like our neighbor, but as brothers and sisters in Christ, we learn to love one another with the same that He lavished on us. May you always be surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ who annoy you. And may God give you the patience and grace to love them, and in that, may you discover that you might actually be able to learn something from someone who is different than you.
May you know a peace that surpasses understanding, a life that is abundant, a hope that is beyond comprehension, and a love that will never let you go.
And finally, each morning may you wake up, look to the heavens and choose to give 100% of yourself to Jesus knowing that he gave 100% of himself for you.
We look forward to the ways God will transform you, for we know He will surely do it.
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