Reckless passion

Today has been a great day!

Just a few hours ago I had the honor of baptizing Liz Trainor. I love this girl like a daughter. For the last two years I have watched her grow, struggle, ask questions, and deal with a number of difficult situations.

This is one of those days someone in ministry never forgets. A day when someone whose journey you have been blessed to be a part of makes a big step. It was exciting to see the look on Liz's face as she realized what she was experiencing. She knows she will never be the same again.

Sometimes I wish more people in the church had real conversions. For some it seems like being baptized is the thing to do. Just another thing you do because you grew up in church.

For Liz this is a real conversion. She has found a God that loves her regardless of where she has been. A God who wants to love her no matter what. A Father who wants her to realize that she is God's masterpiece.

She was not baptized because it is what everyone else is doing. She was not baptized to make anyone else happy. She was baptized because she is falling in love with God and God's love is at work in her life.

I am not saying that everyone who grows up in church doesn't have a real conversion. I know plenty of Christ-followers who have gone to church their whole life. However, we can learn something from a person whose life before Jesus was not Bible classes and VBS. We can learn a lot from someone who has seen the underbelly of life and found the light of God on the other side.

I am challenged by Liz. Every time I turn around she is bringing someone else to church. She is telling people about God. There are times her friends fill an entire pew.

Imagine the difference it would make in our churches if we all could be this serious about telling people about God. But many of us are too afraid of what people will think.

Maybe we have had life too easy as Christians. Maybe church is more about what we do than who we are. Maybe we need a little persecution.

Thanks, Liz. Thanks for showing me what it looks like to be passionate about Jesus without having to have it all figured out.

shine!
Jason