A Message From Andy
Life can be crazy, we all know that. With families, friends, deadlines, and church, who has time to squeeze it all in? Lately, all of this running around has really left me tired, worn out, and empty. Have you ever felt like there has to be something more? With so many things going on, and so many choices about what to do and where to go, I have begun to think again about a few words Jesus shared. In John 10:10 Jesus says he has come that we may have life, and have it to the full!
I don’t know about you, but I am not living life to the full even though I want to!
Jesus approaches a couple of guys one day at work and says “Come. Follow me.” The story continues by saying that “at once they dropped their nets and followed him." Can you believe that? The only thing I do instantly is go to the bathroom and drink Starbucks. There must be more to this story than meets the eye. What was really going on as Jesus asked those fishermen and tax collectors to follow him? I have tried finding Jesus by doing the church routine and trying my best to be perfect on the outside, but each of these has left me in failure and feeling emptier than before. Maybe my brain is working overtime on this one, but when God came into my life and saved me from the broken life I was living, I believe he had more in store for my life than being a nice guy or walking through a religious routine.
For me I feel most alive when I connect with my savior in private! Don't get me wrong Jesus died for the church (the people not a building) and he commands us to love others as we love ourselves, and live together as one big happy family, but crack open your bible sometime and take a look, and tell me what you see. People who came face to face with Jesus definitely were not the same afterwards. The broken became whole, the poor became spiritually rich, and those dismissed and ignored by society tasted a life others only dreamed of! Simply put those in captivity became free! Think about it, you know something is up when people were willing to rip off the roof of a house just to be near you!
Does this sound like the Jesus you know? Does this describe the experiences you have been having at Sammamish Hills? Or have you given into the temptation to turn Jesus into the nice, neat, dare I say, boring person you saw in all of those Sunday school pictures. Let me put it this way, nobody ever thought about nailing Mr. Rogers to a cross made of wood did they? Jesus stood up for and accepted with love those who society chose to judge and ignore! Does the Jesus you know still heal and set people free today? Mine does, and yours can too! The life in it’s fullest form Jesus is talking about starts with realizing that God wants to be in relationship with you. I invite you to challenge yourself. Challenge yourself to take a closer look at who this Jesus guy really is, and what he is inviting you into!
May you experience Jesus in a new way this day!
In His Joy,
Andy
(Andy Hermanson is a husband, dreamer, and all around nice guy trying to change the world one conversation at a time, who also happens to be a Director of High School and Young Adult Ministries in Sammamish, WA.