my friend lily is a freshman at a catholic high school here in town- she asked me if she could interview me for a paper for her religion class. she shared the paper with me this morning- it was super-encouraging- and such a huge honor- so I thought I 'd share it!
Semester Project - Religion 9A
Rob shows me that he truly believes his faith and wants to embrace
it to the fullest. He believes that we as humans need to trust God and not do
things our way, because when we do what we want, things don’t turn out too
well. When you live for yourself, you are not allowing God to speak to your
heart and conscience. Rob explained to me that he can now relate more to God as
a father, since he has a daughter of his own. He is passionate about caring for
her and loves her so much, just as God does for us. He never turns his back on
her, just like when we are in dark and troubling times, God doesn’t turn his
back on us. When Rob is preaching and a kid is being rude to him or another
individual, he isn’t rude back, because he knows that God will take care of it.
Rob also told me that sometimes when he finds loose change on the ground, he
picks it up and reads the script on it that says,"In God We Trust."
When reading those words, he knows that he needs to trust God right now. When
preparing for a speech and occasionally when he is presenting a strong message,
sometimes an idea gets implanted in his head, and that is when he feels in the
presence of the Holy Spirit. He also feels close to the Spirit when he goes on
walks in the great outdoors, especially in autumn when the leaves are changing
color.
There was a time when Rob was in high school when he was invited
to go to a church service. That was when he realized that he wanted to serve
God for the rest of his life. He connects religion and faith by believing that
religion will lead you to a deeper understanding of your faith. He sees
religion as habits and practices, which in turn connect him to the Christian
faith, particularly when he is living in the moment or reviewing his favorite
Bible verses, because that is when he feels like God is listening to him and he
is listening to God the most. Rob also told me that religion is just a door. By
itself religion isn’t anything that will help us - it’s what’s on the other
side of that door that helps us keep on going. When he told me this, it really
motivated me to become a stronger Christian and pursue my faith.
Rob celebrates his faith according to the teaching of “Do
unto others as you would have them do unto you.” He is always considering the
welfare of people around him and is regularly trying to live more like Jesus
and is aspires to represent Him well. Rob is a strong supporter of simple acts
of kindness, because even just a smile or a compliment can make someone’s day
infinitely better. It may surprise you when I tell you that Rob was not
baptized by his parents, but he chose to totally commit to Christianity when he
was a junior in high school. He told me that he knew that he wanted to become
more serious in practicing his faith. When Rob was in high school, he was a
little insecure about his faith, but after being baptized, he knew that he
wanted to follow God for the rest of his life. By taking on this
responsibility, he decided in college that he wanted to become a youth pastor.
Whenever I see Rob in public, his attitude is like he never left church! Some
might say that Rob has an advantage, working at church, since it is a holy
place where people can praise the Lord, along with other people of the same
faith by their side. Since he works as a minister, he gets to continually
preach the good news of Jesus Christ, and he gets to spend time helping
students and leaders. He loves to help them discover faith, plus he gets to
assist students by talking to them about any struggles that they might have
within them.
Rob lives out his faith by spending much of his time in prayers of
adoration and blessing of God. He truly values the Bible, and he believes that
every Christian should be familiar with it, because it is the Word of the Lord!
He also values people and thinks that every person is important, has dignity,
and should be treated with respect,whether they are rich or poor, strong or
weak, it doesn’t matter! We are all equal in the eyes of God. One other thing
that Rob strongly believes in is excellence, and that if you are going to do
something, you should do it right. You, too, should be the best that you can be
because we are acting for Jesus. In addition to having many values, Rob
believes in living for God through prayer and worship. He told me that prayer
would make him have more faith, be less stressed, and allow him to have more
powerful sermons. He said that the whole of humanity would benefit from praying
more, because it not only brings people closer to God, but in turn it brings
people closer to others and themselves. I believe that Rob has a particular way
of celebrating his faith, because he devotes so much time to the well-being of
others before himself. He works to be a light to his neighbors, and not just at
church, but to the people he sees in the streets and the people who take his
order at restaurants. His goal is to be an encourager and to represent Jesus
well.
Rob motivates me to always trust in God, help others, and that
when you have doubts, pray. I am so inspired by how much Rob respects God and
trusts Him. He encourages people at our church to donate. Having met him, my
family donates money and time to charities across the globe. With Rob
continually inspiring me to pray, I now do so every night, thanking God for the
day I had, as well as the days to come. Even though I pray at night, I think
that more prayer would make a big difference in my life, too, like being more
connected to God. I also learned from him to never give up on God, and to trust
God with everything. Whenever I have a problem, I take it to God, because He
helps me to figure out a solution. Rob is also respectful to others, and his
kind influence has made me into a more compassionate person. Many people look
forward to Sunday church, because they know Rob is the one who is going to be
preaching. He also leads fun activities outside of Venture, like immersion
trips and parties, but the events somehow always make everyone feel closer to
God. One other thing that Rob told me was that his wish is for himself to be a
great model of faith to everyone. He wants people to look at his life and be
able to say, “If I want to grow in Jesus, I should just do what Rob does.” I
know that I certainly consider Rob as my model of faith, and I absolutely look
at his life as a great example of how to grow in the Lord to the fullest
extent. As you can see, I chose Rob Walter for my project because of how he
lives life for God, believes that, and celebrates his faith. He truly motivates
everyone he meets to improve their relationships with God and to trust Him.
God is love.
-rev-rob
