Resilient

Jesus painted a powerful picture in John 15, as He described Himself as the vine and us as the branches.  We draw our life from Him; His life and the power of His Spirit and the capacity to walk
in the Spirit come from Him. He taught:
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

When we are connected to Christ, wonderful things can happen - our hearts can be encouraged and the power and love of the Lord will be reflected in our actions.  When the enemy comes to try to ensnare us, we can rise above his challenges and draw on the spiritual resources that come from God. When we are knocked down and discouraged, we can experience bounce-back capability.  When we suffer, we can partake of His strength.

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We can rely on the Lord to strengthen us and to make us more resilient through Him.  As we consider a new survey that measures what can be called "spiritual resiliency," we can remember these words
from Hebrews 12:
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

God offers us the ability to withstand adversity, and when we absorb the blows of the enemy, to bounce back.  There is a concept called resiliency, which is defined by the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary; it actually offers two definitions:

1) the ability of something to return to its original size and shape after being compressed or deformed,

and...

2) an ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change.

A new Barna survey highlights the concept of being a resilient disciple of Jesus Christ.  Even though there is a high percentage of young people in their 20's who have become what are called "church dropouts," it does seem that God is preserving a remnant in this critical age group.  The Barna website says: "...the percentage of young-adult dropouts has increased from 59 to 64 percent..." since a 2011 survey. And, "Nearly two-thirds of U.S. 18–29-year-olds who grew up in church tell Barna they have withdrawn from church involvement as an adult after having been active as a child or teen." 

Referring to a new book co-written by Barna President David Kinnaman, the article says:

In Faith for Exiles, Kinnaman and his coauthor, Mark Matlock, get to know the one in 10 young Christians for whom they’ve coined the term “resilient disciples.” “From a numbers point of view,” Kinnaman says, “10 percent of young Christians amounts to just under four million 18–29-year-olds in the U.S. who follow Jesus and are resiliently faithful. In spite of the tensions they feel between church and everyday life, they keep showing up.”

The website makes reference to the concept of a resilient disciple.  The article says:

As defined in Faith for Exiles, individuals in this group: have made a commitment to Jesus, who they believe was crucified and raised to conquer sin and death; are involved in a faith community beyond attendance at worship services; and strongly affirm that the Bible is inspired by God and contains truth about the world.

Also, these resilient young disciples agree with one or more of these statements:

• I want to find a way to follow Jesus that connects with the world I live in.
• God is more at work outside the Church than inside, and I want to be a part of that.
• I want to be a Christian without separating myself from the world around me.

89% of these resilient disciples say their relationship with Jesus "brings me deep joy and satisfaction."

90% want other people to "see Jesus reflected in me through my words and actions."

And, 94% want to use their "unique talents and gifts to honor God."

These talking points, which are consistent with the Scriptural prescription for a productive and satisfying Christian life, can help us consider how we can become more resilient.  We can develop a bounce-back capability. Certainly, life will not go our way, there will be challenges, there will be suffering, but how we handle life's twists and turns can say a lot about the degree to which we allow God to have His way.  Satan would try to keep us down and discouraged; God wants us to exalt Him and keep our eyes focused on Him, so that we will be encouraged and walk in His peace and joy.

9 out of 10 of these "young disciples" want to see Jesus reflected in them, slightly less say their relationship with Christ brings "deep joy and satisfaction."  We can love the people who populate the world around us without loving the world itself.  The more we embrace the Lord, the more we will be able to reject the ways of the world and love the people who reside in it.  Jesus taught that if we abide in Him, we will bear fruit for His glory.