The End

Reading and writing are two of my favorite pastimes. If I’m not buried in a book, I am either mulling over story ideas in my head or scouring Pinterest for writing prompts. My dream is to become a published author someday. But writing fiction is not the same as writing about what is really going on around me. 

In the beginning of my World Race journey I was super excited about blogging. I looked forward to getting my blog set up and writing my first entry, but since then its been a mental battle to sit down and write. Its not for lack of topics or inspiration. I have a document with a running list of topics that have come to mind. So, what’s the hold up? Why the struggle? I guess I’ve been too critical of my own writing and afraid of it not being as good as Id like it to be. The wonderful news is that its okay to make bad art. I learned that at the Storytelling Workshop I went to at training camp. So here it is, my art/blog. Good or bad, I hope God uses it.

I recently finished a book I was reading. It is the second book in a series that has quickly become one of my favorites, and I was reading it as fast as I could to get to the end. I have a love/hate relationship with finishing a book. I love knowing all the details and finding out what happens, but I hate being left with an ending and no more pages to read. And let’s not even talk about cliffhangers. I know it keeps readers going on to the next book, but they are literally the worst.

As I sat thinking about the ending of my book (and avoiding blogging) God brought two words to my mind “The End.” For a moment I sat and mulled them over. Such simple words that we see all the time. I wasn’t sure what God wanted me to do with those words, but over the next few days He clarified it for me.

Some people believe that we are born, we live life how we want to, and then we die. The end.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, I know that’s not the case. Yes, we are born, we live, and die, but there is more than just dying and being buried. God wants so much more for our lives, and there is eternity after death, which is either spent with God or separated from Him.

After Jesus had been crucified and buried, the disciples had scattered and locked themselves away. It must have felt like the end to them. The messiah had come but he had been killed. I bet they wondered if it had all been real. If he really was the messiah. But that wasn’t the end for Jesus! Three days later he rose from the dead and his disciples, among many other people, saw him before he ascended into heaven. But before He returned to heaven, he gave the great commission:

Matthew 28:16-20 (NIV)

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Not long after that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and they began to boldly preach the good news of Jesus Christ. What they had thought was the end was just the beginning, and Jesus promised to be with them always. And this is the same in our lives.

I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was a little kid. For many years I struggled with thoughts of, “Is this all there is to Christianity and my relationship with God? Praying a prayer and trying to live for God?” But when I was a junior in college God got my attention and I truly made my faith my own. Salvation wasn’t the end for what God had for my life. Since I began seeking after God, I see Him in everything. And since World Race training camp, I am excited for what God has in store for me next year and for the rest of my life. I have a job to do. God didn’t put me here on earth to take up space. As someone who has experienced the saving power of Jesus Christ and had my life forever changed, how can I not share that with everyone around me!

God has called us to go and make disciples. That command leaves no room for excuses. So, when God called me to go on the World Race, I said yes, I’m in. At training camp God called me to give Him every part of myself and let go of my shame, doubt, and things that were holding me back. And again, I said a big YES.

Moving closer to launch makes me feel like something is coming to an end. And maybe it is. I know that God has already changed me significantly in the last month. I can’t even imagine what He has for me and my squad next year. But this isn’t the end of my story, just the end of a chapter looking forward to the next one!

Don’t live your life blandly going from one day to the next. There is so much more in store with God at the center of your life! He can break whatever chains are holding you down. He can banish your shame and fill you with confidence in who you are in Him and give you purpose. Don’t settle for life, death, the end. Give everything to God and watch how he sets your heart on fire and changes everything. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.