...the body of Christ

I know what I want for Christmas next year. A thought-organizer. Heck, if I had one of those things I could blog all day long! Not the mention the major headway I would make in my learning processes! Ah, well. Nobody can have everything, I suppose.

I've decided I want to look closer at predestination. I would like to (buzzword warning) organize my belief on the subject because I hear that word thrown around all day long by adults. And I'm sick (actually, I really am sick right now) of just listening to this word that makes so many people mad be thrown around and me not fully understanding it. I mean, I have a general idea, but it ties into so many other things and I've watched so many people get into huge spats over this... (excuse the word) "explosive" theology. So I think I'm going to get out some books and get familiar with this doctrine...



Teenagers. This word reeks havoc throughout the universe of adults. Stereotyped by drugs, obsession with media and irresponsible sex, these rebellious, unlikeable; clumsy and irresponsible; brainless and hormonal; detached and impossibly hopeless people should be locked up until they're 21.
Sometimes I think adults forget that they themselves were, at one time, teenagers.
And I think that teenagers forget that they themselves are creating that stereotype.
Now, an extent of that is the stage of life (hence: clumsy). Teenagers are bombarded with stereotypes that tell them to be themselves {e.g. do whatever they want), hate their parents, try sex, drugs, etc. We also are forming who we are and will-be: trying to stand up for what we believe in all the while going through (likely) the most difficult and most character-shaping stage of human life.
I vote we have a right to be a little cranky sometimes.
But I admit, the bible doesn't say "strive to be more like Christ...unless you're a teenager." It tells us all that we should strive to imitate Christ. The hard times and the less-than-fabulous teenage years are not excused from this commandment (although, I admit, I am looking forward to leaving the "teenage" title behind me).
Here's the cool part, though: we are all the body of Christ. Not just the adults. All of us. We all have different gifts and different abilities. And we are all in different stages of life. But why don't adults expect kids to carry their weight of sustaining the body of Christ? I have a feeling most adults expect Christian teens to play the part of the appendix: existent, but if it plays a purpose, we aren't totally sure what it is. ::laughs:: Though once the kid turns 21, he's expected to pull his own weight and take a share in the left arm or the kidney.
What I'm saying is this: we are capable. We're a little scared and yes, we're still learning. We're rookies, really.

There's this group of kids I go to classes with this school year. There's about...oh, 10 of us. We see each other multiple times a week, go to church together, and we're all about the same age. When we're together, we are building each other up. I so much enjoy being around them because I don't have to worry about being "cool" or having to keep up with the latest movie or music artist. Yes, we are people, so we talk about those things, too. But I am fascinated by the comparison between the conversations I have with this one group of friends and my conversations between other kids I'm around. I find that I even have less in common with other people...get much more out of a conversation with someone who will talk with me about spiritual things. I get email after email: "Aubrey! Look at this article! It's about the theology of original sin and that and the other, all tied in with the such and such given thing that inter-works with the this and that." When I come out of a conversation with these kids, I feel even more curious about the Bible, G-d, etc, whereas with other people I feel like we've strived to fill an empty hole by discussing earthly things. Trying to get satisfaction..."trying to get blood out of a turnip." Frankly, it doesn't work. Does a turnip even have blood?
So yes, I hang out with a lot of rookies. I'm a rookie myself. But rookies aren't perfect, they're just learning.  We do our best and help each other, striving to put away our stereotype and enter adulthood with greater understanding and belief in G-d than we are expected to. Some don't. But I know some kids who do. Teenagers, actually. Teenagers that care about things that matter, teenagers that want to make a positive difference, who want to stand up for what's right, who build each other up in Christ instead of tear each other down. We don't always succeed-- I'll be first to admit that. But we know for sure, we want to set an example for everyone: especially other teenagers: but if we can, we would be equally as thrilled to be an example for the adults, too.

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." -1 Timothy 4:12

And no matter what your age, may you do the same.
Aubrey