Weekly Word
Posted on Dec 09, 2016 by
Hey Salem Community-
This past weekend our middle school students participated in our annual confirmation retreat. We headed outside of the city to Tall Oaks Conference Center in DeSoto in collaboration with Holy Cross Lutheran Church. The goal for our time together was building stronger relationships with each other and God. This year, we focused on the topic of personal identity and exploring who God calls you to be.
Middle school can be a difficult time for our young people as they try to fit in and also figure out who they are. They receive so many conflicting messages from peers, family, media, and church telling them who they should be. In Matthew 16: 13-17, Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And the disciples said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Then Jesus asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter jumped right in and said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
It is a daunting task to truly be our whole self and who God calls us to be in such a broken world. We fight against barriers that keep us from realizing our own potential. We spend more time worried about who others say we are and forget who God calls us to be.
Last weekend, we challenged our confirmation students to identify the barriers that prevent them from being their whole self. We also asked them to share what helps them to understand who they are and what God calls them to be in the world. The most consistent message we heard was that unconditional acceptance and love from their family, peers, and church community, gives them the support necessary to be their whole self. Unconditional acceptance allows them the space to figure out who they are without feeling as though they need to be something they are not.
God calls us to accept ourselves and to lift one another up as we celebrate each others unique gifts.
Peace- John Holt
Director of Youth and Family Ministries