First, here's a quote and verse that I think basically explain what I'm about to try to say...just in way fewer words :p
-Meister Eckheart
|
"Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."-Colossians 3:2
I've been thinking a lot about my future lately. If you're a senior, or even a junior, chances are, it's probably crossed your mind at least a few times too. The struggle of deciding which colleges are right for you, the fact that people expect us to know what we want to do for our careers, when most of us aren't even 18 yet...we all experience this at one point...and it just so happens I'm currently coming face to face with the realities of making these decisions. Just for some background as to where this topic is coming from...I've been struggling lately...the majority of my family doesn't believe a Christian college is the right choice for me because (and these are their ideas) 1. They aren't well known enough which will make it impossible for me to be chosen for a job later on 2. "Oh but you've worked so hard to just throw it all away and go to that type of school and 3. (oh this is just my favorite thing to hear) "What kind of degree do you plan to get? One involving religion? Ha, that'll get you far."
(I promise there is a point to me telling you all this...just wait for it)
They aren't believers (except for my mom), which is why I feel as though I can't explain to them, what I'm about to say here. Their 3 "reasons" for why Christian colleges aren't the "right choice" made me realize something huge that impacts and changes everything I once was so sure of in regards to my future. I realized...
Nothing I do for personal gain in this life matters at all. Nothing I do to ensure MY success, will be significant for more than 100 years tops. And lastly, NOTHING I do that is for myself, will make me feel truly satisfied and filled with joy.
Everything that I do to try to ensure my personal success on earth...
will leave me empty.
In fact, I just watched a movie, Grace Unplugged, (I highly recommend it), about a girl who leaves her life of leading worship at her church with her dad, to become a Hollywood star, and makes it big, but is told in order to reach fame, she'd have to compromise her morals. She ends up gaining huge success, but instead of being happy and feeling complete after reaching what she thought was her dream, she notices something is missing, and she feels so empty and doesn't know why. Long story short, she realizes her success, was all for her. Nothing she was doing was in any way to glorify God or live for Him . She was making her life about herself instead.
This movie and facing this reality caused my to realize that my future isn't about me and if I try to make it about me, I'm just going to be left completely unfulfilled.
It's about making God known to other people and glorifying Him along the way. That's why we're here isn't it? That is our purpose: to make Him known.
In every situation that we ever encounter, make Him known to people who haven't yet experienced how great He is.
I realized that we shouldn't pick a college because of how it'll look to companies when they are looking to hire, but we should pick the one we feel we can grow the most in our walk with the Lord at, the one where we think God will use us the most to serve our purpose.
We shouldn't pick a job based upon the income levels because God promises he'll provide what we need to survive if we keep our hearts purely focused on Him. And I find comfort in the fact that even if I end up at a job, where I make close to nothing, that I'll always be filled up with his love and joy. Like Eckheart says, we can be completely empty of things, and still be full.
Our earth deceives us more than I can even comprehend. We have this idea that our happiness depends on the materials we have, high incomes, and lastly, that our happiness depends on other people... when is clearly states in Colossians that our minds NEED to be completely set on building up treasures in Heaven, not giving in to the temptations of this Earth. Not giving in to doing things for our personal gain, or our own success. Because although I'm only 17, and have no clue what living on my own is like, or supporting myself financially, I am 100 billion % confident that if we don't live to serve ourselves, and we don't shape our future based upon solely personal gain, the amount of joy that we will be overwhelmed with, no matter what hardships we face, will provide a life more fulfilling than any billionaire, who lacks a life with Jesus, could ever even dream of.
Thank you for reading :)
No comments:
Post a Comment