Mis-matched Socks - 5-22 from Carmel Students on Vimeo.
Has it ever happened to you? You go out in public, somewhere far from your sock drawer, and realize that you’re wearing one black sock and one argyle? I don’t own any argyles but I’ve definitely caught myself with one black and one blue. The likelihood of anyone noticing is pretty slim, yet we become acutely aware of the mis-match, and do everything we can to prevent someone else from noticing that our socks are different.On the other hand, there are articles of clothing that we can’t wait to show off. Like a peacock displays his feathers, we can’t wait for someone else to see our favorite shirt (or dress or hat). The thrill is multiplied when someone compliments the shirt. We may try to be humble about it like, “what this old thing?” Inside we’re thinking, “why, yes this shirt is the most awesome thing you’ve ever seen and I am awesome in it."
In preparation for our quickly approaching Survivor 8th Grade Retreat, we asked a group of high school students to help us with the task of identifying questions that they think would be beneficial to rising freshmen. Our hope was to compile a list of these questions and build them into our teaching so that our 8th graders could “have their answer ready” before their transition to high school next fall.
We received some great questions from students in grades 9 - 12 who have first hand experience of living as a Christian in a world that is less than friendly to the faith. Our 8th graders will no doubt benefit from the experience of those who have gone before.
This question from a freshman named Thomas, will be a good teaching point for our Survivors, but should resonate with all of us as well.
The question: “Is your faith more like your favorite shirt, or a pair of mis-matched socks?”
It is tremendous insight from a high school freshman. Is your faith on display for others to see and experience, or do you do everything you can make sure no one notices?
We are called to live lives that point others toward Jesus, not ones that cover any evidence of his presence in our lives.
