For some time now I feel like I have had this one goal in the back of my mind, “I want to be ambitious for Christ, I want to be ambitious for Christ”, both academically/intellectually and spiritually. Question is, how can I ever carry out this thought that keeps lingering in my head? I think it’s so easy to think of myself as being ambitious for Christ spiritually when I am constantly in a Christian environment, such as a ministry. Often I’d find myself wanting to do so much more for a certain department or for a fellow brother/sister in Christ. It’s easy to push my limit in the comfort of a Christian environment because I say to myself that I want to be more faithful, more loving. Yet when it comes to my social circles, I downplay the act and try to intentionally avoid others from finding out from the get-go that I am a follower of Christ. I do admit, this happens most of the time because I absolutely hate the double standard that we, as true followers of Jesus, are held to. Throughout history, so many people and events have tainted our reputation. While there ARE a lot of times that we come across as judgmental people, I think that once others find out our true beliefs, they think we’re constantly judging them. Truth is, I don’t tell people I’m Christian as often because I don’t want to be judged as a “religious person” just as much as the next person doesn’t want to be judged for the “sins” they are committing.

But if I really think about it, keeping myself safe and padded within the Christian environment doesn’t do much to challenge my faith in society. Sure, I can see how God works in my everyday life, but often times that won’t meant much to someone who converses with me outside of the Christian lingo. Instead, I am going to challenge myself to be ambitious for Christ OUTSIDE of the Christian community. I don’t doubt the value of a gospel community, in fact I do think it is absolutely vital for one to be plugged in a gospel community if they want to experience growth of any kind. But I also want to be mutually comfortable in the presence of non-Christian company, to a point where I can actively serve them in their setting, and they are comfortable enough to seek help when they’re in need. I believe that God challenges our faith not only in the way we operate within our gospel community, but also in the way we operate in our social circles outside of the gospel community. For me, there has always been some sort of disconnection between my Christian life and my social life. People know enough to know that I am a Christian, or someone they deem religious, but what does it matter if they cannot understand the depth of the way we see the world through Christ-like eyes?

Ambitious for Christ.

I tend to think that a lot of the things God has called us to do are so simple. If that were really true, I think we’d all be able to achieve it by now. When I coin things as “simple”, I mean that God created us so that these things SHOULD be just as simple as that. But of course, through the fall of mankind, a lot of simple acts have become increasingly difficult. I think being “ambitious for Christ” is easier said than done, but I also believe that it’s a very simple thing to do. Why my mind has created this intense vortex of obstacles and excuses, I will never understand fully. So for the next four years of my life, I will strive to do one thing only:

BE AMBITIOUS FOR CHRIST