God? Yes, God

Okay, I really really need to talk about God and Christianity for
just a minute. It’s long but stay with me.

Three themes: God wants us, We need God, Life as a Christian

 I would like to preface this whole thing with a verse:

Philippians 3: 12 – 13 “Not that I have already obtained all
this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that
for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Friends, I do not consider myself yet
to have taken hold of it.�

God wants us

I was sitting here in India one morning on our day off in the
coffee shop. I had this aching in my heart. The cause of this aching was a
desire to be desired, cared for, wanted, to be number one in somebody else’s
eyes. Have you ever felt that? That deep aching in your heart?

I asked God to show me what this was. He let me see that this
aching is how His heart feels for us all day long. The Lord of all creation
longs for you. He calls out to you, holds His hand out to you all day long
waiting for you to put Him first, to love Him first. All day long I break His
heart. I let Him down. Each morning He puts His hope in me, “Maybe today, I
will be put first. Maybe today she will choose to love me fully�. He wants to
be in relationship with us.

Matthew 23:37 – How often I have longed to gather your children
together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not
willing�

Isaiah 65:2 –  All day long
I have held out my hand to an obstinate people who walk in ways not good

He wants us. He wants you. Run to Him.

We need God

Water. Here in India it is ridiculously hot all day long. In the
States I could probably go a full day just drinking water in the morning and
before bed, not healthy I know. Here I wake up in the morning and my body is
longing for water. Without it I would probably die and definitely not function
well during the day. All night long I went without water but the climate of
this place still took it’s toll on my body. So as the morning comes, by body is
longing, desperate for water.

God. God is our water. We need Him to complete our lives. I
didn’t used to think this. I used to think that I could get by just fine
without God. Yeah, I could call Him by name but I didn’t really need Him. I was
functioning fine without Him. I was so accustomed to running on empty I
completely forgot what it was like to be full. We need Him.

Psalm 42: 1 – 2 – As the deer pants for streams of water, so my
soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Where
can I go and meet with God?

Matthew 4:13 – 14 Jesus answered, “ Everyone who drinks this
water (motioning toward a well) will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the
water I give him (meaning himself) will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give
him will become in him a spring of living water welling up to eternal life�

Life as a Christian

This is not a section on the steps you must take to live like a
Christian, don’t worry. I want to take about life as a Christian in India.
Christian means little Christ. To be a Christian literally means to be a little
Christ. In America it is common for people to say “I am a Christian, I believe
in God� and not live as little Christs. Here in India, this is never the case.
Nobody here places the label Christian on themselves without being fully
willing to live as a little Christ. Here, when you say you are a Christian, you
know what is going to happen. You are going to be rejected by family and
friends. You are likely to be beaten and physically harmed. People as young as
eleven have been kicked out of their homes by their family for being Christians.
These young men and women pick up their Bibles and still pursue God, still
believe in Jesus. Here, people are on the run from authorities and others who
want to kill them for being Christians. This is real you guys. Let that sink in
for a minute.

I need to start taking the name of little Christ seriously. It
isn’t just a label, it is a way of life. It is a name that people are dying
for. It is a name people are giving up everything so that they can wear it with
honor and not defame Christ.

Philippians 1:27 – “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a
manner worthy of the gospel of Christ�

My challenge: Christians. We bear His name. Are we living lives
worthy of the power of this gospel? Are we cutting off parts of our lives that
do not align with His word or are we cutting off parts of His word that do not
align with our lives? Are we living in awareness of how much God longs to spend time with us and how much we need to spend time with Him?

Man, this has been so convicting to me. For me to grasp and
evaluate my life by. I hope it was for you to. If you have any questions or
want to know more about this gospel or just my life in general please please
message me on facebook or comment on here (everybody can read the comments,
just for your information).

I love you, even if I don’t know you.

Raelyn Pearson