Grant wrote an essay to be submitted the to Youth Gathering of the Northeast Jurisdiction as part of his application process for selection to attend the Global Youth Gathering in Berlin this coming summer. This is a paragraph from his essay.
My future vision for the United Methodist Youth is a very large one but, at the same time very obtainable. I think that growth is a priority on this list. I go forth in my life to bring people to Christ. I produce a rich and desirable landscape for new people to become a part of. Our saying as a United Methodist Church is, “Open Eyes. Open Hearts. Open Doors.” At a first look one may think that this is a description of what a Methodist should be. That is entirely true. One should have the open eyes, an open heart, and an open door. We should always see that people need Christ and that we should show them Christ though us. An open heart is crucial asset to obtain our goal. No matter what the situation is or what circumstances there are, we should look to Christ and open our hearts to him. We should always have open doors. We should go forth and bring other people into the Church. At a second and closer look at the text, one would start to think something different. This saying is not just an explanation of what a person should be, but it is a list of things people in the United Methodist Church should do. Each person in the church should try and open the eyes of another. Open their eyes to Christ and the love he shares. We should open people’s hearts to feel the compassion and grace of Christ our Lord. We should teach them to let Christ into their hearts and show them how to do it. As a church we should open doors. Open not just the doors of people’s lives, but to show and teach them that the doors of the Kingdom of God are open to those who completely give their lives to him. Doing these things would insure a great outcome and would open a new path to others.
Grant Matthews
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