LOST: Courage

We don't watch much T.V. anymore. LOST is the one show Mike and I really like to watch. What always amazes me about LOST is how brave they are. They forge into the jungle, guns in hand, ready for whatever comes at them. I would be shaking in my boots and crying like a baby. I know it's all fiction and everything, but I was trying to figure out why they are so brave and I think it's because they've already lost everything. They've already died.

As we've been talking more and more with our kids about sharing their faith with their friends, it's been a little difficult for me. As a mom, I just want them to have it good and to avoid hurt. But I know that if they truly stand for Jesus, they'll be different. There will be things they don't do, things they don't say, movies they don't watch, places they don't go. But we've already died too: died to ourselves, to this world and now live to Jesus. Galatians 2:20:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

In one of the Passport2Purity sessions that Jenna and I did, they talked about courage. What does it take to stand for your convictions even if you are the only one? Dennis Rainey said that courage is like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it gets.

As a kid when someone at church asked what we would do if someone walked into the room with a gun and asked everyone who loved Jesus to stand up so they could be shot, I really thought that I would say yes. It's easy to say that you are going to take a stand on something you know will probably never happen. But at school, if someone was being picked on would I stand? Unfortunately, no I did not.

So, how do I teach my kids to have the courage to stand for their convictions in the big stuff and the small stuff? A key piece of the puzzle that I often miss is to pray for them. That God will be the most important thing in their lives and that He will give them what they need to stand up for their beliefs.


And by doing it myself.

I am shocked how much, even now in my adult life, I'm motivated by what others think. And I'm surprised at how many parents would do anything to make sure their kid has it all. Even Christian parents.

Here's a few examples from my own life. A while back I figured out how to feed my blog to facebook. Then I stopped. Why? Because I was worried that my facebook friends might not agree or might be offended by what I had to say. And I was thinking that they might not like me - for real, am I in 7th grade? A little while later, I put it back on. I'm not out to be famous or liked, I just want to share what Jesus is showing me, no matter who the audience is or what they think. The only audience I care about pleasing in my writing is the audience of One.

The other night I had a very odd experience. I was with some friends and was kind of shocked at what they thought we should do to have a good time. As I watch less and less T.V. and movies, the more I am disturbed when I watch them. I'm not perfect. I have watched and done things that aren't God-honoring (I just mentioned how much I love LOST!?). But I was sad that this was how we chose to spend our time together. So am I a total prude and spoil sport? I don't want to be. I still haven't spoken my heart on that situation.

I want to have the courage to stand for my convictions. What is it so hard? True courage takes the path of humility. It doesn't seek to be the best, but the least. It seeks those who are hurting and need a friend, not the most pleasant and popular person. It seeks truth and righteousness over fun and frolic. It seeks to honor someone other than yourself. It probably means you are going to be knocked around and put down - like Jesus was and promises we will be too. And that's true whether you are 6, 16 or 60.

John 15:18-19
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. "

Matthew 10:37-39
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. "

Matthew 10:22
"All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."