Meeting people at the beginning of a new college year or semester is nothing out of the ordinary. It’s expected. Everyone tends to ask the same icebreaker questions: what’s your name, what year are you, what are you studying, where are you from etc. Then the conversations go on from there. Typical polite chit-chat. I have always been one to engage in this thing often, especially at the beginning of the school year. Someone recently cut from the typical surface-level crap and said something along the lines of “what is something about yourself that would shock me?”. After a bit, I had proceeded to tell this individual some crazy things God has done in my life as of late. I realized that these things I shared with this person were the same things I have shared with many of the people I have met this year even if they didn’t prod for it. The question simply allowed me to share these things a tad quicker. You see, I have found that I CAN’T HELP but share a handful of these crazy accounts, in which God has so graciously blessed me, with everyone I meet. They are things I can’t keep inside, things that I find to be so powerful and so permeating that they seep out of me at any given opportunity. It reminds me of an event in Luke chapter 5
“12 While he was in one of the cities,there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, 'Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.' 13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, 'I will; be clean.' And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one, but 'go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.' 15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.”
Jesus told the former leper to show what Jesus had done instead of merely telling. I’m sure people knew of this leper and had seen him maybe countless times, but to see this man healed must have been astonishing! Obviously, you would inquire this man on how he was cured of his leprosy. I imagine the man was more than eager to tell them something like “Jesus of Nazareth has healed me! My life will never be the same for he has healed me!”. Maybe something a little different. But I’m sure we can agree that surely this man was overjoyed to share with them what Jesus had done. Crowds of people gathered to see Jesus because of this. I think it’s safe to say that the former leper didn’t mope around on the streets anymore; Jesus transformed his life! While I haven’t been cured of leprosy, I have been told by a few people that I seem different this semester, that I have changed. This is why I am so eager to share how Jesus has changed me, too. I’m transformed like the leper. It would make no sense if my life didn’t change. I may have gone to church for 16 or more years, but now I understand this beautiful Gospel like never before. Knowledge changed my heart which changed my actions. So when people want to get to know me, Jesus will most definitely be a part of the conversation.
Take a second and think of the people who you love the most in life, the people you have close relationships with. When you are talking with other people, you’ll find that quite often you bring up those individuals whom you love and have close relationships with. Maybe this will shed light on why this year I cannot keep from sharing what God has done in my life with the people I meet. I pray that hearing of these things will prompt others to go to Jesus as well, so that they too will allow Him to transform them and give them a new life. Jesus endured the death we deserve and has given us a new life that is only made possible through Him.
Here is some scripture for you.
“17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin,so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
6 For while we were still weak,at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:1-11)
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