I needed friends.
With the rise of the social media platform Tiktok, the gospel is being spread faster than ever before. I can honestly say that I have met some of my friends on social media. One of those people being the guy pictured in this photo above.
Jesse and I met on Tiktok when I came across one of his videos and followed him. To my surprise, he was already following me. As I joined one of his Tiktok lives, I found out that he didn't live too far from me and actually attended college at the college in my town. Excited to learn this small detail about each other, we planned to meet up for coffee, and then we planned to meet up for hiking.
I haven't told anyone about this but for months, I have prayed for friends, my age, that live near me who are Christians. I attend a church that is primarily the older generation so I don't have a lot of Christian friends my age. You know, when you ask God for something, chances are, according to His will, He'll answer. And He did. You could say that I am one of the lucky ones. I have groups on Instagram that started as the Kim Possible theme song suggests "Call me, beep me if you wanna reach me" but turned into strong bonds, fellowships, and friendships. You could say that all of these people are a gift from God.
God's Gift To Us
New, prayed for, friendships is not the only gift God has given me. God's gift of salvation is one of the most important gifts for us Christians. Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God." (esv) Through God's grace and faithful love, we are given a gift of salvation that is only achievable through faith in Jesus.
What does this mean?
Everyone, pastor or not, is born a sinner. We are all born condemned by sin but because of Jesus, we are made right. We all know John 3:16 but not a lot of us read on through verse 17.
"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." John 3:17 (esv)
You see, Christ didn't come to condemn us but to save us. His whole mission was a mission of salvation. That's why He made friends with the misfits and prostitutes. He called the unqualified and qualified them. He saw people with love for who they are not what they've done. Jesus meets us where we are to take us further into where He wants us to go. We try to "save ourselves" but what we think will make us feel better actually makes us feel worse. It is not until we meet Jesus that what we think defines us and labels us becomes something that He has pulled us out of.
A lot of us like to say that Jesus saved us from ourselves. That's because we have realized that what we thought was good for us was actually making things worse. Through Jesus, we are given a living hope. Through Him, we are given a new birth and an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. That is what is kept in heaven for us. Our suffering in this life is nothing compared to what waits for us in Heaven and it all started with the gift of salvation and faith that is much more valuable than gold and jewels. That's the gift that keeps on giving.