I had breakfast with Angus and Hamish this morning. It's a weekly event that's about 3 weeks overdue. Usually we go to Js and have man time and breakfast.
Funny how a commitment to spend time with my sons tends to fall by the wayside so easily. I won't go into why, except to say that it really isn't funny. It seems to have less to do with funny and more to do with a certain adversary desiring to kill, steal and destroy my Wednesday morning breakfast with my sons.
I've been part of what seems like a recent conversation about what the practical appearance is of a close and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Even now, as I put the phrase "close and personal relationship with Jesus Christ" down in black and white, it seems somehow weird. Not weird because that concept seems alien (except when I really get down to it, it is alien). Weird in the same way it would be weird, as a Christian, to have a conversation about whether or not Jesus loves me.
Back to breakfast. I asked the question, "Does God talk to you?" Without missing a beat, the answer was, "You know, you and mom have kinda drilled this into us... Of course God wants a relationship with us..."
I realized that "close personal relationship with Jesus Christ," is not something that I've specifically imparted to my sons, beyond the need for it... Now it's probably true that I can't actually impart that relationship. I can only visibly strive and yearn for it. And even then, the yearning and striving doesn't seem to be enough.
If I say, "I'm a really good friend of so-and-so", and Angus and Hamish ask, "Cool. What do you guys talk about...?" My present options seem to be either reply with dumb silence, or to try to pass off one of my one-sided conversations as something else.
Fast forward to Wednesday night jr. high youth group. Lately I've gotten away from a specific curriculum, and I've been looking for topics in my own experience with God: semi-daily scripture readings, thoughts about God, something I read or heard on the radio, etc.
Tonight I had the inspiration or thought to ask whether or not any of the Jr. High yout's have had God talk to them. Most immediately asked what it meant to have God talk to them, to which my response was simply to repeat the question. Probably half said they weren't sure. Almost half replied that God does speak to everyone but that most people aren't listening (themselves included). Only 1 youth in a group of about 8 said that she heard from God, and naturally, soon after giving this response, had to leave when her mom came to pick he up.
Oddly enough, I'm not discouraged by the numbers. And the responses didn't stop me from assigning homework. "Over the course of the next week and beyond, be mindful, and in fact ready to ask questions of God. Be persistent in asking those questions and doubly persistent in listening for the answers."
It sounds like good advice, and now that it's coming from my own mouth, I really must participate in the assigned homework.
I think the results should be worthy of a follow up blog post, which is about as close to saying "I'll post again soon" as I will get.
