58James Gerarden (forethought)
Joined 5 years ago from Appleton, WI
By God's grace, I am being conformed to the image of Jesus. To better explain that I wiil turn you to something I wrote to foster forethought in a teen seeking career advice. In what I wrote, I was answering the teen's question of "In what field can I give back the most?". Here is what I wrote:
"I'm going to re-direct your question. Fascinatingly, you are uniquely you. That makes you special because of who you already are. As a Christian, I know I can feel good because I know I am made in God's image just like all people. Some people think they need to do something to make a mark in this world when it has already been done in one important way because of their being born. You are valuable in this moment and every moment. You have value if you don't already recognize it and I want you to recognize it now for sure. Yay! So many people get wrapped up in what they do to make them feel good when they should know to feel good should be based on who they are....as demonstrated with each moment of their life and not just in a career decision or what gets done at work for work. You are so much more than a career. There are various tests someone can take to find out about their aptitudes, skills and abilities for a career that suits them and offers good but sometimes the best input, advice or discoveries come from friends and family in what they know to be true about you. I know God can shed a whole lot on what I am or will be and sometimes does this through friends and family but mostly through the Bible. For me, as a Christian, I feel good when I excercise the Holy Spirit in my life. Fruit of the Holy Spirit is a biblical term that sums up nine attributes of a person or community living in accord with the Holy Spirit according to chapter 5 of the Epistle to the Galatians in the Bible. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The fruit is contrasted with the works of the flesh which are explained in Galatians chapter 5 as well. If you truly want to be most helpful in this world if you can excercise the Fruit of the Spirit you will be able to be helpful no matter how you are treated or what you do as a career profession. You can be most helpful anytime that way by the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ through Jesus as both Lord (doing what He tells to do) and Savior (receiving all good he has for you). The concept of "giving back" is dependent on what you have gotten from others. My experience has been people treat me pretty poorly sometimes so I'm not always going to feel like giving back unless I can rise above how I'm treated and can exercise the Fruit of the Spirit when treated poorly. Then how I am does not depend on others at all but on me as I am and not on how I am treated but on how I was made by God because of Jesus. Having faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior means I have the Holy Spirit. Because of Jesus and the Holy Spirit I can be most helful in many ways at anytime. Yay! The best advice I can give you is don't leave God out of any decision you make. He loves you no matter what circumstances you're in, is strong and can carry you when you're weak. In that way you can't lose and with His provision and how He made you, you will be most helpful anytime in all circumstance. I will pray for you and decisions you need to make now or will need to make in the future. That is the very best I can do."
Here is what I offered this teen to do in follow-up:
(1). Read the gospel of John in the Bible and see if Jesus is worth putting faith in.
(2). Pray to God and seek His will for your life and not just for a career.
As a reader of my bio, I offer you the same advice. I will pray for my readers regularly.
