Who Are You?

I have some of the greatest friends a person could ask for. Friends who challenge me, hold me accountable, are willing to be crazy and stupid with me, and who make me laugh. I love how so many of them can say just one phrase and it brings me to tears laughing. They all have their own unique phrase or a word they say all the time that's just...well...them. They say stuff like, "ahh frak!", "death!", and "blessed!". People who don't know them don't understand, but for me those meaningless phrases trigger memories in my mind. My favorite was this summer when my ministry partner was always saying "who are you!?". Whether she was kidding or serious, it always got me thinking.

In starting college this fall I've obviously started thinking about my future and what I want to do after I graduate. The thought terrifies me, but with a couple of the majors I'm interested in, I don't have long to decide before I have to start taking classes for those majors. People told me all along that your first year of college is when you change the most, but a piece of me didn't believe them.

That was until I went to college and realized that I had been living under this shelter my parents had built for me. A loving shelter, yes, but a shelter nonetheless. All the sudden I had no idea who I was on my own. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. All I knew was that I wasn't the same. I didn't know who I was, but I knew I wasn't the same as before.

I spent the last three summers in Japan and met so many amazing people. I met people from all over the U.S. and the world. They loved Japan, the Japanese, but above all else, they loved the Lord. Many of my teammates claimed to have a broken heart for the Japanese and my roommate in college (who was also one of my teammates) even wants to spend the rest of her life there. I had no idea why God called me there, but I knew I didn't have a heart for the Japanese like they were. It seems like so many people these days have this "calling" for their lives; something they know God has "called" them to do, while I had no idea what I was going to do with my life or what my "calling" was. But what are we as Christians really called to do? Who are we really? Well, I can tell you one thing...we're not called to much.

Jim Elliott once said in a journal, "wherever you are, be all there". I think that in a way, he summed up every Christian's calling in a matter of six words. If you think about all Jesus did and said on His time on earth it's easy to see that we are called to do only two things. Love God and love people. Simple. Straight to the point. If we are doing that wherever we go then we're doing what God has "called" us to do...we are fulfilling our "calling" for our lives. If He choses to send you overseas that's wonderful! But while you're on the plane you are not exempt from your calling. Love God. Love people. No matter where you are, what you're doing, or what time it is.

In chapel yesterday Dr. Wheelington spoke on this. It seems to be a reoccurring theme lately in my life so apparently it's something I need to learn, embrace, and work on. Anyway, he said that you can't have one without the other. You can't love God and ignore His people and you can't just love people and not acknowledge and love the God who created them.

So what's your calling? What's my calling? What is it that we're supposed to do with our lives while we're in college and when we graduate? Simple. Love God. Love people. No matter where you are. I truly believe that if we will all embrace this calling, the rest will be taken care of. Because if we are truly loving God then we're trusting Him with our lives and our time. We're trusting that He will put us where He wants us. And if we're loving Him and loving His people, then we're declaring His glory.

Have you been loving God the way He made you to? Have you been loving His people? Have you been declaring His glory in all you do? I know I haven't. So let's start. This is who I am. This is who you are. Love God. Love people. Ready. Set.

Go.