Isolation- Part 2

The middle two weeks of the summer is... FUSED. A summer program, similar to CSSM in beautiful Newcastle. This was my third year. And as you would probably gather from that, i love it! Each year i have God moments, moments where God is clearly showing me or teaching me something. I have many valuable memories from it. You could describe me as a mission trip junkie, being part of a team united in sharing Jesus Christ to others is the best. And the fused team is special for that reason, and more. The team is made up of young people from the different churches in Newcastle and a group of Americans from Southland Christian Church. Your right, i am not part of either, and there are a few others like myself, add ons. But none of that matters because we are united in the belief that Jesus Christ saves.

God has shown me what being part of His Kingdom on earth can look like through Fused, through His children who have been part of it. It was the first place i saw others praise God freely. Praise free from distractions, free from traditions, praise seeking to glorify God. A narrow eyed glimpse of Heaven. Praising together with others seeking after God's heart, and standing in awe of Him... gets me excited for Heaven! It reminds me to lift my eyes to the things above the things of earthly importance.

Being an add on, a random can exclude you from a group easily. It can exclude you despite others attempts to include you, you've missed moments the group have shared in laughter and in struggles. Yet the unity of Christ overcomes that. I love that it is not just a group of 'Irish', but that Americans join us. Any Americans reading, God uses you. I for one am so thankful you have been a part of Fused, and i am not alone in that. You bring an excitement, an honesty, a willingness to be vulnerable and more. A close friend once pasted on this quote...

'Relationships are made in the vulnerable'

It is not just an American thing.  Or a fused thing. That is just the context where i first began to realise its importance in the christian community. When you are vulnerable with someone, when your share part of your heart, your story, your struggles, your worries, you build trust. You build a relationship that is worth something, worth more than a facebook friend or another acquaintance you share a certain activity with. The relationships that are made in the vulnerable are the relationships that make a difference. The ironic thing is that the christian community can be the hardest place to be vulnerable, to share that sin your struggle with. It sounds good in theory, but when you know that they believe it is wrong, and you do to, you do not really want to share it so much. You want to hide it. You become ashamed. I'm not saying to share these things for the sake of it, but because we can help each other, we can be accountable to one and other and because James tells us

"confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."

Why do i associate it with fused, i think it is because we are encouraged by those in leadership and who share with us to be 'God-conscience'. I think it was Amy Duncan who once shared this challenge

'We need to become less self-conscience and more God-conscience'

When we do this, we find our worth in Him and humbly serve Him, knowing what He gives is completely undeserved. When we do this the barriers of pride are pulled down, allowing us to share our struggles and strengthen each other. When we do this, we remember the price for our sin has been paid by Christ, and that we are forgiven by the Holy One. The Holy One who promises;

"as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us"
Psalm 103:12

"For I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sins no more." Jeremiah 31:34

Isolation- Part 1

The past four weeks i have been surrounded by lots and lots of people. I'm just home from camp with over 120.  And yet if there is one thing God has been trying to teach me, it is this, i am isolated. I am alone. Surrounded by the noise of many, i am alone. Yes i had friends, and even close friends on the teams i was part of. And yes if you checked i have 750+ friends on Facebook, i know people from many different countries and i will be busy catching up with friends each day of this incoming week. But still I say i am alone. I know i have isolated myself, and i have been isolated by others, isolated from groups and by some who know my heart more than most. What about you? Maybe it all began for me back in September with starting university, and moving to Belfast. Before the summer i had an interview (or more of a chat) with Barry, a chaplain where i live. He asked me this question.

"Would you say you are dependent on the Hub?"

The depth of the question shocked me, i considered it for a while. I came up with only one response. One that scared me. "Yes"

I did not want to say that i was dependent on the Hub, God is the only thing i should be dependent on, He should be the one I depend on, but yes in a sense i am. Why? Because if i had not lived there this year i would have been alone, i would not have had the community i did, i would have missed out on the closest friendships of the past year and i wouldn't have had the same time to spend with God. I was a little ashamed to admit that i 'needed' the hub until Barry told me this:

Even the disciples were not sent out alone, but in pairs. (Mark 6:7)

That one thought, one sentence has been stuck in my head since. And God has continued patiently to teach me and to rebuke me on how we are to live as a community. The first thought: we are not sent out alone. Not only are we given His Spirit, 'the Helper' but we are to walk alongside one another. We, followers of Christ are to live life for Him together. Simple, yet in a world were loneliness shouts out loudly, if we became this community what would happen? how would peoples attitudes change of the church?