The World Will Know

This post was written by TeenPact Student Body Senator Chad Fryer of Georgia.

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a hundred times. “The relationships you make at TeenPact are incredible.” What is it about TeenPact relationships that mean so much? How is it that you can meet a total stranger on Monday of a TeenPact event and by the end of the week feel like you’ve known them for a lifetime? Most of us have experienced this phenomenon regardless of whether or not that relationship withstands distance and time. I have continued to ponder this mind-boggling occurrence in addition to another question; If it’s so easy to make friends at TeenPact, why is it so difficult once we get home? 

In my endeavor to figure this out, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have all the answers. To this day I am still perplexed by its happenings and wonder if it relies more on human actions, supernatural providence, or quite possibly a mixture of both. Nonetheless, I’ll rest in the truths of God’s Word that I know for sure won’t fail me. 

For example: We know that in Genesis 2:18 God says, “It’s not good for man to be alone.” While this context is specifically referring to Adam and Eve, I believe it can translate into non-romantic relationships as well. We also are reminded many times in Proverbs of the importance of good friendships. We are told that there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:2), those who walk with the wise grow with the wise (Proverbs 13:20), and as iron sharpens iron so another man sharpens another (Proverbs 27:1). Even the analogy of the Church as a body points to how a community of believers is vital to our well being. I have no doubt that we have all heard these verses referenced as a way to prove our dependence on each other,and I’m sure many times they seem cliche. Regardless, there can be no doubt in our minds that every single one of us was created for companionship and even more importantly Christ being the center of it all.

So if we are creatures dependent on one another, exactly how do friendships come about? I once heard that the majority of our relationships are built 80% on convenience. While I do believe there is some truth to that, I can’t help but believe that there must be something more. For example, I know that most TeenPact relationships can’t be based on convenience due to the fact that we meet people from all over the country yet still continue to stay in touch. And this is the mind-boggling part — maybe, just maybe, those TeenPact relationships seem to be just a little more valuable than the ones you have or even the ones you make back home. How can this be? Well, you may have seen this coming or it may come as a shock to you, but I believe the main reason we are so apt to make long-lasting relationships in such a little amount of time at a TeenPact event is because of HOW WE LOVE. Not just the fact that we do love or desire love but how we love. 

A song that is frequently sung at TeenPact is How He Loves us. Throughout this whole song we’re reminded that Christ is jealous for us and that His love is like a hurricane. Through all the ways He loves us, not once does it mention Him lacking our love. Christ demonstrated a similar kind of love during His earthly ministry that we see displayed at a TeenPact event. Love that is ready and willing to serve and sacrifice for another’s benefit. A type of love that wakes up in the morning ready to love others rather than to be loved. This would explain why the TeenPact community is like no other. And sadly explains why homelife can be a difficult reality to return to after a class. Imagine if everyone in the world woke up in the morning ready to give love. If we all did that then everyone would receive love. But all too often we wake up ready to receive love leaving others deprived of Christ’s love that is in us.

A challenge I’ve set for myself and that I’d like to set for you is this: If you’ve ever missed or longed for the kind of love that is so prevalent at TeenPact, just remember that it’s the same love that Christ not only used to sacrifice Himself for us, but it’s also the same kind of love that He put in you.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” – 1 john 4:17

So no, not everyday is going to be like TeenPact.  But if we’re striving to change lives, we can’t change the world with our love if we keep it at TeenPact. We have the opportunity to bring the TeenPact experience to our everyday lives through our own attitude and actions. So I challenge you, just as I challenge myself, to wake up in the morning ready to give love rather than receive it, and by this the world will know we are His.

Student Body Senator Chad Fryer