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What do I value about God? Though you can't see Him, you can see the definite way He changes hearts and lives, like the wind can be seen in the leaves.
Example:
I have of this is when I worked at a camp. During a particularly rough session of kids, who considered themselves part of gangs and acted like it, I had what was well known as the worst group of guys in the batch. Made up of blacks, whites and hispanics who all hated each other, my kids couldn't get through one period without half of them being punished and the whole group getting a terrible score for behavior in what was called the "Honor Cabin Contest".
One night, I shared how God changed my life, and how I felt God had a purpose for each of us. I didn't really expect them to listen, but the entire group was stone quiet through my talk and they ALL accepted Christ into their hearts! I was excited, though I suspected they might just be kissing up. The next morning though, the entire group woke me up together (they never did ANYTHING together) and said, "Chief? We want to be better!"
They weren't perfect after that, they still had their moments, but you could see this dramatic change in the attitude of every single one. They won Honor Cabin every single day for the rest of the session!
What I told them:
When I was younger, my #1 pursuit was to be happy. I was a "decent kid" and I believed in God, but I cared most about making my life as enjoyable as possible. The only problem was, I failed miserably at that pursuit. Circumstances I couldn't control would make life unbearable. Even when things were going well, I found myself inexplicably down.
One Summer, I was invited to work at this camp. Well, I had NO interest in that whatsoever. I hated bugs, heat, kids, manual labor, etc. I had another job lined up that would pay more, be working with a friend near home, be easier... But, I made the mistake of praying first. Before long, I found myself working at this camp, not really sure why.
It was the hardest work I'd ever done, but at the end of the first week, I found that I'd never been happier! This was bizarre to me, so I began to investigate why. This is what I found.
We are "creatures", meaning that we were creatED by someone, we are creatIONS. Whenever someone makes something, they have a purpose in mind for it. If it's not fulfilling that purpose, it is broken. You don't make a light bulb and then use it for a baseball bat. Happiness is a side-effect of fullfiling your purpose.
We were created to love and serve our Creator. If we're not doing that, no matter how hard we try something's going to feel wrong. If we do love God and chase after Him, chase after the truth, we will do good and love others automatically, and we will feel right inside. This has been my experience. No matter my circumstances, there is a joy inside when I am loving and serving God that nothing can crush!
Let me know what you think. Feel free to ask me anything!
Your fellow traveller,
~Jeff
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