Campus Crusade for Christ, otherwise known as CRU, is a Christian community that's at multiple places around the world. For me, it's right here in my small community of Bridgewater College. I was (and still continue to be) so blessed by my friends and family at CRU. I love being there, surrounded by all the people who are able to get honest, open, and transparent with one another. One day though, the leadership team had announced that we had the opportunity to go to "CRU Winter Conference." I didn't even need to know the specifics of the trip, I signed up and said I was in! Little did I know, the trip would be more than just fun with a few friends.
I learned so much more than I expected to on that trip. The most important thing I realized was honestly how important the great commission really is. Personally, I was always one of those Christians who liked the comfortable lifestyle. To me, going to church, CRU, and Bible Study was all I really needed to keep my relationship with Christ passionate and fueled up. Although all of this does help me have a relationship with God, what is it doing for others if I'm not going out and telling people about Him?
Jesus did not die for us to be comfortable with our Christianity. In fact, Jesus calls for the opposite. Matthew 28:18-20 states that Christians need to "...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you..." This is a command from God himself! We, as Christians, need to go. We need to be uncomfortable with the idea of sitting back and hoping other people will spread the word of Christ. Why would we want that? Why would we want to keep the name Jesus all to ourselves?
Many people have the idea in their head that they need to be called to do mission work. Heck, I even believed this before winter conference came along. The way I looked at mission work was changed on the third day. That day, I heard it said that mission work does not need a higher calling from God. Why you might ask? Well, it's because we already got the "higher calling" in the verse of Matthew stated above!
So, I urge you to take what I learned at winter conference into your own life. Be the Christian that God commanded us to be. Go and be uncomfortable as you get on that plane to go somewhere you've never gone before. Go and be uncomfortable talking to the kid who might not be as popular as you. Go and be uncomfortable knowing that what you're doing is for the glory of God!
