rebelling against low expectations
College is bursting with causes to get involved with. Want to solve global poverty? There’s a group for that. Want to fight for animal rights? There’s a group for that too. You can find student activist groups for just about everything. Cool! I want to change the world too. Where do I sign up? Many young people want to be world-changers who defy cultural norms. We’re idealistic. We’re energetic...
A couple years back, I was really into Stranger Things. It was the hottest Netflix show with a gripping plotline, loveable characters, and an awesome 80’s aesthetic. I went back and forth before starting the series, but after encouragement from friends and my own curiosity piquing–despite some warning flags in my heart–I decided to give it a go. Before long, I sat on my bed...
Jesus went into the darkest places and the lowest parts of society. He talked with people everyone else would have avoided. He chose fishermen—a lowly, unimpressive trade—to be His disciples. The woman at the well had multiple husbands, but He didn’t look down on her. Instead He told her who He was and is. He chose a tax collector to be one of his disciples and a young girl from the middle of...
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). William Wilberforce is one of my personal heroes, and I wish more people knew his story. So many people have never heard of him, and if they have, it’s only the “obscure person in a history textbook” kind of heard of him. His life and work affected culture, politics, society, and Christianity in a...
John 13:35: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Love is not a debate. Sometimes we, even as Christians, can get so caught up in being right, that we forget what really matters. This is especially evident on social media. It saddens me greatly when I think of the way so many of us treat each other on the internet, so many sides...
“Think before you speak!” Ever heard those words before? They’ve been said far too much for us to actually pay attention, but I feel that they are more relevant now than ever. Things are really, really crazy right now–I mean, we’re actually living through a pandemic. With people arguing over whether masks are an infringement on their rights, the spread of nationwide cabin fever, and...
You love me Jesus, it’s a mystery. You know my faults, You know my wrongs, and You still love me. As I scrolled through Instagram earlier this week, a post shared by one of my friends caught my eye. Clicking through to the original post, I pulled back in shock. Jon Steingard, known to me only as the lead singer of the Christian band Hawk Nelson, was renouncing his faith. While their most...
Have you ever seen a ship battle a storm? I know it feels like we’re weathering our own storm right now, but I want to focus on another aspect to storms. I’ve always wondered what a sailor would feel in the face of a storm at sea. Once, I heard a sailor remark, “In a storm, what you really hope for is that no one building the ship took any shortcuts.” That left me thinking. How often do we take...
As I’ve been dealing with social distancing, canceled events, and the overarching fear and uncertainty engulfing our world, I’ve been thinking about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the final two years of his life, which he spent in prison for suspected political resistance against the Nazi regime. While our circumstances and Bonhoeffer’s are very different, I believe there’s much...
The world is changing all around us. For students in high school and college, it can feel like everything has been cancelled or is about to be cancelled. School. Church. Youth group. Field trips. Movie theaters. Everything. The gymnastics tournament you’ve been training for all year? Cancelled. The musical you were supposed to perform in next month? Cancelled. That mission trip you’ve been...
rebelling against low expectations
