The Weight of Glory

I am a week into being a full time youth minister in a small town in Illinois. Already in my one week, I have almost given a student a concussion, been late for church, locked my car in a town half an hour away by breaking the key in half when trying to unlock the frozen doors, been told that a lady in the church was going to find me a girl, and stayed awake for two all nighters (though one was before I officially started).

The new position has me thinking about responibilty and trust. I am now responsible for students. I have to look at every situation from every angle to try to protect the students. I am responsible for being a man who will be a spiritual guide for them. My personal devotional time is now of immense importance. If I don't spend time with the Truth how can I relay truth to my students? If I am not connected to God how can I model a life of connection to them? But as I have thought about this I realized that my responsibilty is no different than that of any follower of Christ. I am merely in a paid position that highlights and draws attention to my spiritual life. But every follower of Christ bears the weight of glory. The weight of being responsible for our actions and our deeper life. Each of us is being watched by someone. Watched to see if we are real. Watched to see if this Jesus thing really makes a difference in our lives. Some days the weight of glory seems to heavy, but grace has been given...