McLean Bible Church Blog

By Bethany Goodman, MBC Tysons Attendee

Ten years can fly by in a flash.  That realization hit me recently when the invitation came for my 10-year high school reunion – via Facebook, of course, which was just coming into existence in 2004! Times certainly change.

I began thinking about not only my senior year, but my entire high school experience. Was I living for the Lord or what other people thought of me? Did I treat everyone the way God sees them or according to their social group? Did my fellow students and my teachers see Christ in me? Even more deeply, I started to think about who I was as an 18 year-old kid versus a 28 year-old woman. Had I matured? Did I regret any decisions I’ve made? Most importantly, had I grown in my walk with the Lord?

Then my thoughts shifted to what the reunion might be like – the conversation would surely revolve around the answers to where do you live?, what do you do? and what’s your relationship status?  I wondered how my answers to those questions would reveal what’s most important to me – my faith.

I was exhausted just thinking about all the questions! But times of reflection are necessary in the lives of disciples so that we can invite the Holy Spirit to speak to us, convict our hearts and show us the path forward. King David realized this when he wrote Psalm 139: “Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

To examine my thoughts and heart, I boiled down my many high school reunion questions to six reflections that get at the heart of how I’m living and can be applied to every disciple at every stage of life:

Is my identity firmly grounded in God?

Am I making the most out of every opportunity to serve people and serve the Lord?

Do I treat every person I come in contact with the way Christ would?

Am I growing in knowledge and wisdom of the Lord?

Am I living for eternity or temporal things?

Am I living as a true disciple of Jesus?

We can’t change our past, but God gives us a fresh start each and every day. Not to mention that He paid the price for our sins and failings on the cross and conquered death through his resurrection!  Gratitude and devotion to Him should overflow in my every waking moment.

Whether we have a high school reunion coming up or not, it’s necessary to take inventory of our lives.  As we’ve been reminded throughout Multiply, discipleship is a 24/7 business! Asking ourselves questions and listening for the Holy Spirit’s answers are practical and important ways to “walk in the way everlasting” each and every day.