Learning at a Concert

This reflection is from my 4th college semester. It delves into what I value most and my motivation behind the actions I take. To include people in order to make them feel valued, which leads to personal development for others.

Something strange happens to people at a concert. Suddenly, those who have reserved tendencies are screaming at the top of their lungs for someone who they have never met; and that’s exactly what happened to me. The question is, why? I was a fan of the artist I was seeing, Ben Rector, for all of week, and suddenly I was singing and dancing to all of his hit songs. I began to notice mid concert that I had an abnormal tendency, of looking around at all the people who were in the auditorium with me. I loved seeing people full of joy and excited to be a part of the concert experience. I thought it was strange that I was drawn to the people in attendance, rather than entertainment that I came (and paid) to see. Following the concert, all I wanted to do was tell people about my surprisingly merry experience. I just wanted to share the joy that I had with those around me. People who had gone to the concert would relate about specific events with giddy excitement. People who didn’t attend, I would share those experiences and my excitement would rub off on them. However, I felt discontented by not being able to give those friends the full experience, or the joy I saw at the concert.

The reason I loved being at this concert was the tangible representation of a collective community. Those in attendance that night experienced the same thing, and created common ground for a group of people who might have otherwise never crossed paths. However, my discontentment for my friends who weren’t in attendance, showed me that this experience had an aspect of exclusivity to it. The exclusivity was created simply by if you had a ticket, or not. My tendency to include others and draw them into community was restricted by this exclusive nature of the event.

There’s one aspect of my life that is exclusive in nature but is not defined simplistically by the ability to buy a ticket: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The jubilant feeling at a Ben Rector concert by experiencing an event with a community, resembles (but highly amplified) with the joy felt being a part of the community and fellowship with God and the church. Just like with my friend who didn’t attend the concert; my friends who don’t know Jesus I long to bring into the experience of grace and compassion that Jesus and a community of believers brings.

As I see this tendency in me, I see how it relates with what I want spend my time this summer doing. My greatest desire is to tell people about Jesus. To include them in the experience that can change their eternity and the love and filling relationship that comes from knowing Him. I know that not everyone is a part of this, and naturally who I am wants to tell people about it. Something like a concert wears off after a week and the memories set in, but the Gospel and nature of God is infinite. My passion continues to grow and has made me realize the impact I can have with my time this summer. Unlike the one time concert, I can experience this with people forever. I can use my time investing in relationships to share this time and be a part of bringing people into this experience. Into the peace and forgiveness that Jesus brings. Like at Ben Rector, I want all people to be yelling at the top of their lungs for Jesus.

#CommLabSummerReflections