I love to learn new things. My wife makes fun of me sometimes because of how excited I get over a new piece of information. After learning something new, I often have to actively restrain myself because I’ll turn every conversation to what I just learned. What can I say? I just want everyone to be as excited as I am and enjoy new things as much as I do! When was the last time you ran into someone who was saved just days before? New believers rush into the world around them with the message of salvation seemingly fearless! They want everyone around them to know the truth of the gospel.
In a much more mature way, I think this is somewhat transferable to the way Jesus feels about us. Can you imagine being Jesus, knowing all there is to know about Himself, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, and seeing us flounder about so ridiculously? Of course Jesus wants us to know Him and have the knowledge we need to live in intimate relationship with Him. In John 17:17 we see Jesus praying over his disciples in a prayer called the High Priestly Prayer. Here He prayed, “Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Jesus knew that the only hope the disciples had of continuing to grow and mature in their faith was that they would learn to treasure the Word of God because it is the primary tool God uses to bring us to faith and perseverance in Him.
Now let’s turn this back to ourselves and our ministries. As student ministry leaders, we see our students living life like a long-tailed cat on a porch full of rocking chairs, nervously running from one bad decision to the next and in constant danger of the consequences of their actions. (Thanks for that one, Dad) I’ll let you ponder the illustration for a moment. As we look on in horror, and pray with all of our might, how do make sure our passion for Jesus is passed down to our students? We root everything we do in Scripture and hold the Word of God as the centerpiece of all that we do. In our passion to attract students we sometimes get sidetracked into believing that games, events, and prizes are the key, but if it’s not all built on the Word, it’s all for naught.
