Wanted: Sauls

Raise your hand if you thought high school sucked.
My experience of high school, I can assure you, was not the most ideal. However, I am appreciative of it. Let me explain. On the outside, I had a lot of friends, was involved with many extra-curricular and school related activities. I pretty much had it all together. The truth is that every day I walked to school in fear and was constantly on my guard. I went to a Christian high school for grades nine and ten and then decided I wanted to be a light in darkness. So, I left.
Insert the dark halls of a public school. (Gasp!)
If you've ever experienced this, then you'll know what I'm talking about. The transition was harsh. You go from an environment that screams Jesus is the way! To... Jesus is gay! Suddenly, you find yourself looking quite foolish in the eyes of all your peers. I was never fortunate enough to meet the cool Christian kids in high school. I still don't even know if they exist. That is, I was cool… I think.
High school was a battle field! I had to walk every day with the armour of God surrounding me. That was because everyone in my classes, including crazy liberal teachers (who were out to get the Christian club), opposed God. I mean, it seemed as if everyone was out to get me.  But you know what?  Never before had I felt so alive and purposeful or so close to God! While everyone else curses his name, you are left with three options:
Option 1: Screw it. Curse God and die. This will gain you access to the world of popularity or friends. Take your pick. But hey, it wasn't like you were sincere about your faith anyways. It was something you did on Sundays.
Option 2: Be a double agent. I'm pretty sure the Bible calls this category the lukewarm ones. Let's be serious here.  If you admit to being a Jesus freak, you risk the chance of having lame friends or none. In this scenario, you can pretty much do whatever. Well almost. You live on the border. At times, you will join in and ignore God's voice while at other times you will stick up for your faith and do what's right.
Option 3: Be a Paul. This one is a tad bit tricky. You will surely be persecuted. However, the love of Christ which flows through you and unto others is greater than your own selfish desires and pursuits. So you take it - slam after slam of others hating you.
I'll be honest, none of these sound that appealing. In every case you lose something! Then again, when was living for Christ in the face of opposition ever easy? Didn't Jesus say, "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." The key word here is "hate". That's okay because being persecuted for our faith is a good thing. It weeds out the sheep from the goats and we want to be sheep.
I find in our school, we are lacking that kind of persecution where people are constantly attacking your faith. That is probably because every one here is Christian! Or at least shares similar values. The beauty of being in an environment where every one hates you is that you become so much more aware of what you believe and why you believe it. You are challenged to defend your faith and love God with all your mind in addition to your heart, soul, and strength. I cannot begin to explain how taking a personal interest in apologetics has caused me to grow in my faith. As much as we need to be an example to others in our faith, we also need these people to sharpen ours.
I am not saying that we cannot grow in our faith here at Redeemer. I, personally, have grown so much through conversations with people, the community here, chapel, and courses. Besides, God works in every situation to mould us. What I am saying is that Redeemer's environment lacks people who can challenge our faith as the Sauls we so desperately need. As a result we should strive to surround ourselves with others who despise God as often as possible.  There are plenty of ways of doing so already. For one, volunteering with Deedz every Friday is a great way to interact with the people of Hamilton. Just hanging out downtown and talking to people is another. When we come out of our comfort zones, it's no longer about us, but about God and how he uses Christians and non-Christians alike to form us. It is integral to the growth of our faith to include interaction with those who oppose our beliefs.
So get out there. I dare you.

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