The grave
"We're all gonna die! Imagine what your friends will say about you when standing by your grave. What would God say?" This is the way we started one of our youth meetings. It's not a usual thing to have a grave right in the middle of your meeting room at the church. It's not part of a shocking therapy or scared to death ministry, but we really believe in the strength of powerful illustrations. Their meaning is to put some events, stories in a different light, making them more clear and accessible. Some students say: "I never understood that before! and that is true for many of us.
The story of the grave was not only about death, but about a living a worthy life and about resurrection. We had a guest speaker that evening which is a member of our church and one of the famous sculpture from Romania. He had a "strange" request for his family after he will pass away. He wants them to bury him holding a stainless steel flag which will come out from his grave like an ensign. "Resurrection" will stand written on it.
At the end, everybody received a small metal flag as a symbol or a milestone to remember us the invitation of living our lives in such a manner that God would say about us: "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!"
