Dialogue with a good friend...

In our youth group, we are teaching each youth how to discover who God is through the Christian Disciplines. The current discipline we are experiencing is meditation. Last Sunday night we had a guided meditation in which we were lead down a path, a path of our life, along the path we meet Jesus who takes our burden from us, and we continue to walk down the path together, holding a conversation. It ends here and you were prompted to write the conversation you and Jesus had. (If you would like to follow what we did there is a link on our youth website)

Anyway, I wanted to share what I wrote...my conversation

Me: Hey
Jesus: Hey, how have you been?
Me: Good, I guess. I mean I really have nothing to complain about. I have food, clothing, shelter, and a beautiful loving wife.
Jesus: So why "I guess"?
Me: I mean I just want so badly to do something HUGE with my life. I know that you have me here to help impact these kids, but I wish there was just an easy way to tell if they "get it". I mean I can see lives moved and changed but what about the group? Is the whole group changed? Is it supposed to be? I think it is, because through a changed group of Christians you can change the world...
Jesus: Yes, but do not feel that it is all on you shoulders, I am here
Me: I know. I guess I wish I could just change it all now. RIGHT NOW. I wish the church reflected God like you did and do
Jesus: You know, when I came I was not loved by all, not even really liked, in fact some hated me as you know. But when I said my yoke is easy it does not mean it will always be a walk in the park, it means you won't have to go it alone. And you can have HOPE that in the end, we win!
Me: My struggle is that even I get sucked into the world's version of church: numbers, size, programs even sometimes the need for people to understand...
Jesus: Much of what I taught was not understood, and the rest that was understood was not easy to many to do.
Me: You see that is just it. I feel your message is simple, but so hard to do. "Love God, love others because you are first loved." But it is so hard to not make it more complicated. It seems everything else is, shouldn't the one thing that involves eternity be too?
Jesus: That is just it. I am not of this world. My way is that simple, but also that hard to do. You must be constantly filling your self up so that I might use you. The way to fill yourself up is not complicated either. LOVE is about a relationship. Filling yourself up is just like being with a good friend who when you leave being with them, you feel good and like everything even for a moment doesn't matter as much because you have a good friend; only this relationship with me fills and fixes even the most broken pieces.
Me: So how are you?
Jesus: Why do you ask?
Me: I want to be filled so that we can heal the world
Jesus: Well, let me tell you about my friend Sally........


Maybe It is time we took out all the complications and just sat down with Jesus...