Should I ignorantly assume that the blessings I have received in way of gifting & talent, position & family, country & freedom, have been given blindly and without purpose? Should I, heedless of their potential, throw these things away for the sake of convenience? Will I take the road so often traveled and go with the flow rather than against the current? Will I choose the fate of the common man or that of the uncommon man?
Needless to say, a life of sin and sorrow is readily available to all, whereas a life of purity, honor, and virtue is only granted to a precious few. The gifts necessary to change the world are as rare as the man who tries it, while the ability to conform to the world is evident in all its abundance.
The path of the righteous man is overgrown and seldom used. It is a lonely road, often uphill and through deep valleys. The common way offers many amenities, it is a well-worn path, easily traveled and with plenty of company.
Righteousness is work comprised of fleeing from temptation, running to Christ, fighting the good fight, running the race, and wrestling with myself. Complacency, however, offers a road devoid of care. I give myself to the very things I should flee from and fight with. So much easier to choose, so much simpler, and just what we want””yet not what I want.
To change the world God has changed my heart. To fight the fight God has won the war. To run the race Christ has set me free. All this is mine through Christ Jesus my Lord, yet this is the road often missed, often forgotten, often ignored.
The harder road lies before those who choose life and godliness, yet the greater destination, a glorious paradise and a wonderful feast.
This is the path I have chosen, to follow God and to do His will””to change the world, to be a leader””to shine as a light in the darkness that I’ve been placed in….
In what confidence, you ask, do I make such resolve? Not in my strength for it has failed. Not in my previous accomplishments for they are pale. Not in hope of willpower for it is weak and corrupt. Not in conscience for it is dull. Not in my head, or arms, or legs, or hands, or feet, or anything in me that could supply strength physically, mentally, or spiritually, for they have all failed. They have all fallen short. They have all broken promises they vowed to keep. They have never brought me true or lasting success. They never will. I have no hope in myself.
In what confidence, you ask, do I make such resolve? I make resolve in the strength of God, in the grace, mercy, and power of Jesus Christ. In the salvation I know I have through Him. From the righteousness I have received from Him, from the robes of white that cover my sin, from His blood that was spilt for me, for the love that I feel in His embrace, for everything that is not me and is Him””in this I trust and in this I rest my hope…. [read the entire article]
These are challenging words, strong words. And from a 16 year old!
I stumbled across these words of Brett Harris after finding his blog today (HT: Justin Taylor). The blog is called The Rebelution and is run by Brett and his twin brother Alex (both now 17 years old). Their older brother is Joshua Harris of I Kissed Dating Goodbye fame. He is also the “Timothy” to CJ Mahaney, and now serves as the pastor of Covenant Life Church (home of Sovereign Grace Ministries) in Gaithersburg, MD. So it is not too surprising to see how Biblically based and Gospel centered the Harris’ brothers blog is.
From looking at the blog, it appears to be having a far reaching influence. It has won awards, and will be launching a Rebelution Tour & Conference in 2007. The blog is directed at teens and yet, young adults and others can benefit from it as well. They even have discussion forums now (as of their redesigned site launch yesterday).
Just in case you were wondering, “The official definition of the ‘rebelution’ is ‘a teenage rebellion against the low expectations of an ungodly culture’ (from this explanation)”. “Do Hard Things” is the motto for the blog. And most praiseworthy is the express attempt to encourage others to do this only through relying on Christ and His enabling power.
I encourage you to check out this site, and send any teenagers you know there. Also, you may be encouraged (as I was) from reading this testimony of the impact of this blog, from a teenage girl in the Phillippines. Let us encourage what God is doing through a redeemed use of the web and blogosophere.
∼striving for the unity of the faith for the glory of God∼ Eph. 4:3,13 “¢ Rom. 15:5-7
Thanks for pointing this out. My 13 year old son will be introduced to this site in due time! So, being Sovereign Grace Ministries types, is there much advocacy of charismatic theology on that site?
Not that I see. I haven’t looked at everything, but most of it has to do with issues that Christian teens face, universally. The articles linked to major on Gospel-centeredness, fighting sin, sexual purity, modesty, a Christian view of “adolescence”, character, relationships, dealing with siblings and parents, etc.
My oldest is 3, so it will be awhile before I direct her over there!