You ever had a message to share? Something about how God has taken a lowly sinner like you and shown you the value of being a prince or a princess, aka a child of God? Everybody has a story, and we're told to tell it. "The gospel according to me." It's not always easy to do, and some may mock or criticize. But all the while, as follower's of God, we've got a story to tell and we're told to keep telling it, inspite of criticism.
I have a story, just like everyone else. However, unlike most everyone else, I want to tell my true story--not the sugar-coated one. The one where I'm a person, a real live sinner, learning the real life value of following God. And today, I felt cricized. The words were a simple... guidance? help? I don't know, but some sort of genuine concern, I'm sure. Something like this, "Be careful who you tell that to--it could be used against you."
Be careful who you tell that to? God's done some amazing stuff in my life. And if I were to downplay it and... where does Christ tell us to be careful who we share our testimonies with? I understand that my story isn't pretty. That, especially in Adventist circles, people would love to use that against me. My response? So let 'em!
I read in a book recently that "we cannot help one another on the narrow road of discipleship if we can't speak truthfully with one another about the pitfalls and roadblocks we face." Our (Adventist) college campuses are cluttered with people drinking and doing drugs and having sex outside of marriage and looking at pornography and falling into eating disorders and... what makes any of that different from other college campuses? The fact that it's not talked about on ours.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I don't go to class Monday morning and hear the details of someone getting trashed over the week-end. But if we claim to be Christians, can we at least be honest that we struggle? Can we at least tell the truth that our lives aren't perfect? Can we at least be real with each other in hopes that a support system will be found?
The point? It's not easy sharing the dark places that we've come from. But, it's that darkness that proves the Light in which Christ calls us to.
