Yesterday I took a skip day from the blog to concentrate on a retreat I was helping to give for the Junior Class from Kennedy Catholic. They were an awesome group of kids…fun as always…they were just beautiful. I hope it was as good for them as it was for me.
My focus for our time together was on our IDENTITY. What defines you? It seems identity is the theme of the day of our culture isn’t. National identity, global identity, political identity, proclaimed identity, mistaken identity…but as believers our identity is in Christ. Are we grounded in our Christian identity?
At the end of our time together, I told them the story of Cassie Bernall, one of the victims of the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. Although accounts vary, the story is told that when Cassie was confronted by one of the young gunmen, she was asked, “Do you believe in God?” Starring down the barrel of a gun, she said “YES.” She was shot dead.
I looked into the eyes of these beautiful young people…one at a time… and asked them this question. “What is the difference between you and Cassie?”
“Nothing!”
I said to them that they are made of the same stuff as Cassie. They have the same flesh and blood. They have the same hopes and dreams. The same tests and difficulties. And they have the same Identity. Christ. Through the centuries, since the passion death and resurrection of Christ, countless others have identified with Christ and changed the world. All of them gave their lives. Not all of them died doing it…but all of them surrendered to Him. With Christ as your Identity, you won’t escape life’s challenges, but you will journey through them with a loving power that can change your world.
So can you.
