I don’t know about you but lately, a lot of people around me are getting engaged. Whether or not it’s normal for Adventists to be engaged in their early twenties, or it’s God telling me to get a move on is irrelevant. However, it did get me thinking about the word: Engage.
Definitions, aside from marriage, include ‘being attracted to…’ or ‘to participate or be involved in…’ but what does this tell us about God?
At Big Camp Tasmania 2020, the theme in the Youth Tent was #Connected, with the theme verse found in John 14:4 (NIV):
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
So, what can we learn from this?
- God wants to be connected with us
He wants us to succeed. He wants us to flourish. He wants us to be powerful.
This can only occur when we are engaged in relationship with Him. When we are connected to the branch, we can’t lose, no matter how bleak the circumstances seem.
‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.’
Romans 8: 28 (NIV)
If we are connected with God, He will deliver on our behalf.
2. God wants us to make the first move.
I know what you’re thinking. Are you kidding me?
I don’t know how you guys go about ‘relationships’ but making the first move is not and never will be in my repertoire of doing things when it comes to relationships. It terrifies me, even thinking about it makes me nervous. But this is the thing with God, he gives us the choice.
We all have different testimonies of how God found us, or how we found Him. Maybe you are on that journey of discovery. Let me encourage you. God wants you to make the first move because it is a sign that you are committed, as much as he is, in this relationship. The verse starts with ‘remain in me, and I will remain in you…’ it is up to us to ask for God to be engaged with us, we need to pop the question, then He will do the rest (I already know His answer for you).
3. God wants us to be engaged with Him
This might sound like the last point but let me explain.
The definitions of ‘engage’ include:
- to be attracted to
- to participate in
So, aside from making the first move, God wants us to be involved with Him. This includes spending time learning about Him, reading or listening to the Bible, even being involved in programs at Church. When we are engaged with God, we are incorporating Him in every aspect of our lives. We are being involved and participating in His cause and for His service. We cannot do good on our own, we need fellow companions of the faith to push us along, to keep us accountable, and to share the load.
‘Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; if one falls down, his friend can help him up.’
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV)
Now, I’m not saying we should all go and get engaged, but I am saying- we need help. We need it from God, and we need it from others. Some of you might be like me, a fellow introvert who struggles to share their burdens with others or to be vulnerable with people.
But here’s what I found: we all do.
And I learnt that from reaching out to others who were also engaged with God. It wasn’t easy, but the risk was worth the reward.
God wants to be connected with you, and He is waiting for you to ask Him ‘The Question’.
The decision is yours.
Are you willing to make the first move?
WRITER: Carmelina Bocchino, attends Rosny Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Hobart (TAS)