Reckless Abandon
“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.” Luke 11:33
As children of God, we are called to glorify Him in everything we do, and shout His name from the mountaintops with confidence and joy. However, as the sinners and shameful people that we are, we often find ourselves hiding beneath a mask, not feeling like it is “acceptable” to sing and praise Jesus at the top of our lungs.
At camp, openly loving the Lord and praising Him is so easy for us. People who walk in faith with us surround us, and we are in a place where judgment from the real world is taken away. We are confident in the people God created us to be, so we are not shy, and we worship Him with all that we have. It’s not that easy at home.
As someone who has grown up at Greystone every summer for as long as I can remember, I know how difficult it is to give devoted time to Jesus and praise Him with the same confidence that I do at camp. Life is harder at home. The pressures from school, friendships, and a social life get the best of us sometimes. But in the long run, the pure joy we get when we offer everything to Jesus in worship and prayer far outweighs any judgmental glances from people in the real world.
In January of 2018, I went to Uganda on a mission trip. I had the incredible opportunity to worship with kids of all ages there. The way they worshipped the Lord with such joy, confidence, and praise was unlike anything that I had ever seen. They jump, dance, scream, play drums, and sing as loud as possible. I watched 20 year olds scream and shout and dance—completely unashamed for Jesus. Their everyday goal was clearly to honor their Father, even after some crazy circumstances that they had been through.
As I came back to America, I had to ask myself, “am I shining the light of Jesus in my everyday life by worshipping Him proudly?” Luke 11:33 tells us that no one hides the light that they have been given, because it is so beautiful and it is meant for others to see. That light brings Jesus all the praise, and we have been given this gift of joy and light to share. Why would we not proclaim His glory and salvation in everything that we do? I will admit, this might not always feel easy, but when we live our lives proclaiming the gospel boldly, we will touch the lives of so many others who might not know Jesus.
I have to constantly ask myself this: When I’m not in the Greystone bubble, am I shining the light of Jesus with a reckless abandon?
At camp we scream and shout and dance to praise Jesus at morning assembly, and we humbly come to him by singing hymns loudly at church in the Pavilion on Sunday. We can carry this into our every day life!
We have been given grace, freedom, love, acceptance, and mercy because of Jesus. We should never hide or feel ashamed when we can find so much JOY in that truth. So let us go out and proclaim the gospel and shine the light of the Lord in everything that we do!