Throughout the Generation ME(dia) series at City Church, Kyle has brought up a lot of key points that have really stuck with me each week.
Changed people change people.
God makes dreams out of nightmares.
No mess you’ve made is too big for God; He can still use you.
God will always take you back.
And one that has really stuck with me strongly: Peter denied Jesus multiple times, and Jesus still took him back!

Last week I was re-reading one of my recent favorite books called mY Generation by Josh Riebock. In his book, Josh wrote something that I feel really brings home a lot of those important ideas I mentioned above. It hit me so deeply that I wanted to share it with all of you.

To set up the excerpt though, I want you to think back to elementary school or junior high. Think about that awkward scenario when a great game of something is about to start and everyone needs to be split into two teams. Two captains stare everyone down and pick the best players for their teams. Have any of you ever been picked last? I have, but honestly, most often I would avoid even playing so I wouldn’t have to face the possibility of not being picked. I think we’ve probably all experienced some scenario where we were the last one picked, or felt that we weren’t qualified to play at all. But there’s great news! Josh writes:

“God picks me. He picks you.
It doesn’t matter how many times we’ve blown it. It doesn’t matter how slow and puny we are, how many passes have skipped off our stone hands, or how many times we’ve left the field sniffling because our glasses got knocked off. It doesn’t matter how far off we feel we are from what people need, or how many people have been wounded by us through the course of our leadership. Right now, God, the captain, still picks us. He still picks me and he still picks you, but not because he has to even out the teams.
He picks you because he wants to. He wants you.
And that may be the strangest part of this. God uses the broken to heal brokenness. He picks those in need of change to bring change. He picks first the kids whom everyone else takes because they have to, to even out the teams, and somehow, God does the most incredible thing through them. He changes lives, making the broken into the beautiful.
He did it through Peter, and I believe that if we too, like Peter, are willing to walk with God deep into his heart, into our hearts, and into the hearts and lives of a generation, God will do equally stunning things in us and through us. I believe that through us—a group that under normal circumstances would only be used to even out the teams—God will write stories of healing and hope, stories that will take our breath away.”

I just love knowing that even though I’ve often felt under qualified and there have been plenty of times that I’ve made a mess of things, God picks me. I hope that you are encouraged by that too.

((As a side note, I read a lot. I consider myself a bit of a book nerd, and I have to say that if you are looking for something great to read, I highly recommend mY Generation by Josh Riebock. The excerpt above is just one of many sections that inspired, comforted, encouraged, moved, or motivated me. It is full of honest and impactful stories about sharing Jesus’s love in a world that is hurting and broken, and about the beautiful things that can come from sharing that love. I loved this book and think you will too. If you are interested, you can check out Josh’s book here.))