I'm a Fanatic–or Indescribably Honored.

Part of what I've been doing at home this past week is preparing for my job this summer at camp. Part of that has been switching to just listening to 'Jesus music'. I compiled a lengthy playlist that I play whenever I am doing other work. 

The compilation song, "Fanatics" by Lecrae and 116 Clique keeps coming up. (Its not on shuffle, I'm listening in alphabetical order and I keep forgetting where I stopped). This song has got me thinking. 

The end of the second verse says:

We ain't crazy we just understand the truth and we burdenedThe world sees us as evangelical ChristiansAs narrow-minded fanatics with a mythical missionLabeled extremists for sharing out faithBut thats cool, we can carry the weight of persecutionCuz earth is losingAnd if we yelling the truthWe honored to be the people that our God is usingSo keep it movingCuz if we yelling the truthWe honored to be the people that our God is using

The last lines, "We honored to be the people that our God is using" strikes me every time.

I see me. I see the ways I fail and the ways I succeed (not all of them, but a basic level). I see enough to know that any true success is by God's grace. I see enough to know that I'm not white as snow. But still God lets me live under His name, even when I mis-represent it.

I think this is something that is lost on me often. Let me try and spell it out (briefly, no deep theology).

In the Garden, Adam and Eve led the charge on the fall of man. God knew it was going to happen. By His grace He let it happen.

I say "by His Grace" because of this next part.

Because we chose to stray from God, He could no longer accept us without contradicting His Holiness (He is above sin, and everything bad and evil). If He had contradicted his nature and made the exception to take us sin and all, we would have no reason to serve Him, because he wouldn't be God.

But God loves us way too much to be separated from us for eternity so He starts this thousands and thousands of years long plan to redeem us. The completion of this plan is Jesus.

"But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many." -Romans 5:15

Jesus came not only to save us and restore us to a right relationship with God, but to establish the church. The body of believers who with a knowledge of the living God have been charged with the spreading of the life giving news. God has called each member individually. He gives them each life, and a story. He pursues each of us passionately.

God, created the world and made millions of organism work in perfect synchronization to sustain life on this planet. He set forth a thousands of years long plan to redeem a people that chose to leave Him in the first place, because He so desired personal relationships with each and every person ever to be created.

And I brush that off?

God called me. Pursued me. Relentlessly calls me back to Him every time I am blinded by the god of the age. Every time I start to pursue other lovers and can not catch them, He welcomes me back. (Hosea 2)

The Grace that surrounds my life is immeasurable.

And beyond all this God wants me to be an agent of His message.

WHAT?!

Imagine for the sake of this word picture (bear with me–we all know people like this) you are a die-hard Harry Potter fan. You love the books, the stories, J.K Rowling is a hero of yours and she comes up to your house (because she took the time to meet you where you are) and says, "I want you to write my surprise eighth Harry Potter book. I'll tell you the words you just write them down. Then you can share in all the fans, the riches and the rewards of the book. The only thing you have to do is follow me around and write exactly what I tell you." (Imagine the face of your favorite Potter-fan....its ecstatic).

God has done this for us times 1,000,000,00.

Not only has He pursued us and met us where we are and gave us this invitation to follow Him and have the richness of His blessings, He wants us involved in His work. He wants us to be an active member in the salvation of the world. Why in the heck would God want me for that?

In this agreement I get to live with God and the family of Christ for eternity. I get a life beyond my imagination and on top of that, joy, love, peace beyond any sort of measurement. I get to be associated with the savior of the world, more so I get to be called His child, Jesus's sister. I get a family bigger than I could imagine. I get a never ending Grace.

God gets an unfaithful child, who continually ignores His commands, tries to take over, starts following other people, and spends astonishing amounts of time in ungrateful silence.

We (or at least I) am the ultimate angsty teenager. The kind stereotyped in countless movies. The kind that mom's talk about with other mom's trying to ease the pain of raising someone so hateful.

And for all that, I have been given the privilege of living under the banner of God and representing Him to a dying world.

That is foundation shattering, heart-breaking, mind blowing, HONOR.