So many of us are looking for connection, belonging, and clarity about our lives. And we spend so much of our time looking for answers in all sorts of places. We consult our friends. Ask our family. We google our questions, and scour the internet for answers. We’re looking for jobs that give us fulfilment, or jobs that just pay the bills. And so often it feels as if we are scurrying around trying to make sense of this life, and in the process often feel so alone.
We have in us a deep desire for connection. We also have a desire for commitment- a desire to be committed. And both of those things reflect our desire to grow. The desire to develop, understand our purpose in life, and to make the most of the opportunities we have here.
But in that journey, many of us have also become jaded or disillusioned. It seems like the answers we find aren’t always the answers that we were looking for. I think that perhaps many of us have even come to church looking for those answers, yet are still left feeling adrift in life.
When many of us first became Christians, we made a commitment to Jesus. Each of us, in the measure of faith that we had, confessed that Jesus is our Lord. Even though we may not have understood the depth of that commitment, we still knew that this was the path we wanted to be on. And from that point on, some of us found good mentors, people to support us, great teachers to guide us, resulting in hearts open and eager to obey God every step of the way. But for others, after that initial commitment, we still felt lost. Wondering whether the Christian life meant being good and going to church. We struggled to know how to pray and how to connect with Jesus. There were many questions about the Bible that we were afraid to ask, or didn’t know how to deal with.
And so we come on Sundays, once a week, to get as much as we can from the worship and the service. And sometimes we feel refreshed afterwards, other times we feel even more tired. We struggle to figure out how to live the Christian life.
LifeGroups is one way we’re looking to address this challenge. They are places where we can know Christ, live Christ, and share Christ together. But they only work if people are willing to commit to their relationship with Jesus. If you desire to grow in your relationship with Him, then you’ll be willing to share and be part of his community. But it’s that choice – the decision to take steps of faith, or the decision to just sit still.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be writing on the BCEC website more about what LifeGroups is, and how you can get involved. Jesus calls us to be his disciples, and yet so many of us are still sitting in our fishing boats, wondering if we should get our feet wet. Maybe it’s time to get out of the boat, and follow Him. What’s the worst that could happen?
In Matthew 4:18-20 Jesus calls his first disciples:
One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.
Let’s follow Jesus on the road of discipleship, and see what adventures await.