are we missing the point?

tonite i went to a student ministry event. it had several hundred kids there, maybe a thousand... i don't know...i'm bad at estimating. the event was fine, good worship leader, good drama, good speaker, good use of students on stage, good intent: to encourage kids to 'take their campus for God'... that's not a bad thing, but i spent a chunk of the night wondering if we aren't missing the point with our students...

i grew up in the church, have pretty much always been a christ-following, church-goer. but somehow during that time, i learned more about what to do, how to behave to please God than about my belovedness. i've always felt i've had to earn God's pleasure by doing the right thing, being the right person. it's only been in the last couple years i'm learning to believe and operate in the belief that God could and does delight in me simply because he created me. and that because i'm his creation, i'm also his beloved. it's a hard thing to learn and accept and come to live in the reality of after so many years of feeling like i was saved by grace, but not beloved because of it too. as i'm learning to live in the truth of my belovedness, i think more graciousness spills out of me, i think people feel more safe sharing their true selves with me and i with them.

tonite there were kids at the event who i know don't know that God delights in them, but they did leave with a clear idea of his expectation that they evangelize their friends. i can't help but wonder what would happen if we poured grace and love and an awareness of God's delight into them... i wonder what it would look like if they could begin to live in that knowledge and belief... i wonder if the change on their campuses wouldn't be more profound if we spent time focusing on who they are in God intead of what they should be doing in and for his name...