mason miles

Mason Miles couldn’t be more himself if he tried. He’s a dad shoe-wearing, notes app-overflowing, Jesus-loving type of spirit. “Wild at heart” as he so fittingly put it.

After spending just shy of two hours with Mason, I quickly discovered that it’s hardly a chore for him to bring a smile to his friends’ faces. Just being around him is enough to want to take part in the magnetism he feels for life.

While it’s his spontaneity that fuels his adventurous spirit, Mason also finds great importance in using his time wisely. His desires lie in focusing his attention on things that are worth pursuing.

However, the discipline of saying no can oftentimes prove to be a challenge for him. But by practicing intentionality, Mason has seen a direct impact on the quality time he spends with the people that mean the most to him.

“I wish more people knew how much I value cultivating relationships,” he said. “I really value every single person that the Lord has brought into my life, and sometimes it doesn’t always seem that way right now because I’ve been so busy with school and work. But I wish people would understand how much I value my relationship with them.”

Mason and his friends, Anthony and Ethan

Since his salvation in 2019, Mason saw firsthand what it meant to completely abandon living for the world. With a newly-realized, radical desperation for God, he set out on a determined search for Christ-centered fellowship. Before he first found this through a young adult group, Mason seemed to be alone for a period of time after distancing himself from previous acquaintances.

But he knew he wasn’t alone, not really. Because looking back, he can only reflect on that year as seeing in color for the very first time.

And as he continues to deepen his relationship with Christ, Mason continues to uncover what being an adopted member of God’s family truly looks like. His perspective on sonship has shifted like never before.

“I have never felt more confident as a son in my life,” Mason said. “Because I know it’s not about what I do that pleases the Father. It’s faith and confidence that says ‘I’m a son. I’m righteous. I’m pure.’ Not because of anything I did, but because of everything that He did. I’m perfected as a son, and living this identity has completely changed my life.”

Along with a knack for thrifting his distinct clothing style, Mason thinks that his words are largely responsible for capturing his sense of expression.

His unique tone can be represented through Luke 6:45, a verse that emphasizes how the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Mason cherishes this sentiment due to his natural tendency of being an external processor.

Growing up, however, Mason wasn’t one to express himself as easily. Over time, he’s learned about what it looks like to resist being led by emotion and instead turning to a pursuit of patience within his interactions. This also displays itself in how to effectively address conflict through loving confrontation.

Rather than striving for acceptance, Mason boils down his meaningful friendships now as being a direct result of what it looks like to pursue the Lord in a collective and deep way.

His college experience has enabled him to walk alongside others whose personalities are all so distinct, yet share one crucial commonality: a genuine zeal for Jesus. This one aspect is what binds them all together.

From left to right: Ethan, Anthony, Daniel, Mason

Now, as he’s on the precipice of beginning a new chapter in Texas and leaving behind his college years, Mason will no doubt carry the immense blessing and wisdom that this season has brought about in his life.

“If you want a healthy heart, you cannot bypass community,” he said. “In order to grow in the Lord and in maturity, you have to be a part of a local community. When the opportunity is given for you to sit at the table with them, don’t reject an invitation to the table. Accept it.”

Mason truly is the type who is always the first to sit at the table and the last to leave. He delights in the present so much that he wouldn’t think twice about shifting his schedule around if it meant that he could finish a meaningful, Spirit-led conversation with someone.

And as he continues to walk throughout life, dad shoes and all, I have no doubt that these qualities will follow him every step of the way.