Colorado: On Campus

Monday morning, we arrived at campus and began setting up the banners. It was a bright, sunny day, albeit windy. We stacked boxes on top of the steel plates that are part of the banner to keep the display from blowing over, got the literature table organized, and I began looking for people to talk to. Walking up to a young man with bright red hair, I asked what he thought of what he was reading on the display. "I'm absolutely not a Christian," he told me. "I was a born again believer 5 years ago, but God never revealed himself to me and I cannot believe in Him because He is immoral based off of the stories in the Old Testament." I responded by talking about how rejecting God ultimately comes down to a pride issue where we do not wish to admit that we cannot get to God on our own and yield our heart over to Him. I agree totally with you. I feel it right in here in my heart," he said, tapping his chest. Then, turning on his heel, he spun and strode away. Sadly, many people reject the idea of God because they are looking for signs of God when the signs are everywhere. Had he not left, I would have asked this student if he read the Bible; if he had repented upon becoming a 'born again believer' five years ago; if he had yielded his life over to Jesus Christ and run from sin. In Acts 26:20, Paul is speaking to King Agrippa about why he is on trial: "First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds." This verse implies that repentance is demonstrated through actions. If a liar feels bad and says he or she is sorry for lying, but continues to lie, the heart is not truly repentant. True repentance means stopping the actions of lying and also beginning to tell the truth. 

The next person I talked to was Adam, who spoke slowly and carefully. Congratulating me after our hour-long discussion that we had just completed a philosophical discussion by going in a complete circle, he also told me that I was the first Christian he'd talked to who had not ended up angering him. Apparently, all others had ended up shouting at him. This discussion left my brain reeling and my heart saddened because in no way was he persuaded that the God of the Bible existed. Ultimately, at the end of this discussion I could only trust that I still spoke the truth from God, and that God is able to do anything in anyone's heart with the Truth of Scripture. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (NIV).

Later that evening at supper, I opened up my Bible while we waited for our food. 1 Cor. Chapter 1 is what my small group back home was reading that week, and how apt it was for my discussion hours earlier:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.' Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? Or since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength (NIV).

 I find it funny, in an unhumorous way, how something written two thousand years ago can speak so accurately about today's world. In general, most people fall into either of the two categories of being a 'Greek' thinker or a 'Jewish' thinker. Greeks have had a secular education and are taught that God is not needed or necessary for any part of life. The Jew has been raised learning the importance of God in every part of life. Jesus was a stumbling block to them because He was a radical who shook up their complacent practices and challenged them to think about their hearts. Jesus was foolishness to Greeks because they had no religious background-or, perhaps, many religious backgrounds-and so they saw no need for him to be added in to their lives, nor considered any area necessary because they had not experienced Him before. Ultimately, whether someone thinks in the metaphorical way the Greek or Jew is described here, both must admit their need for a Savior and repent of their sins and yield their heart over to God. 

 Another student I talked to was Kelly. An agnostic who began spouting off several scientific theories for why evolution is 'real'. Right after I asked her what made her become an agnostic, several individuals joined our discussion and we got very off topic for a while. I started praying for another chance to talk to her again before the day ended. Two hours later, Kelly was still around. When I approached her again, she shared why she'd become an agnostic: the response I've heard many times since starting this campus tour: science proves we can't know for sure. We discussed a few science theories, and I was able to share the gospel with her as well as challenge her to never stop questioning whether or not something is true or false, and to ask herself, "What if"-what if what the Bible says is true. She agreed, and we parted ways. I was thankful for the opportunity to finish the conversation I'd started earlier, and also for her soft heart in being willing to discuss it further. I pray that I will see her again in heaven some day.

That night, after Tom's message to the church college, I caught a ride to my temporary home. By this time, rain was coming down in torrents and the tiny Civic we were in nearly drowned in a giant puddle in the middle of an intersection. Finally, arriving home safe and sound, I climbed the steps to the apartment with one thought in mind: how amazing my temporary bed was going to feel in 2.5 minutes. Opening the front door, I was greeted by my roommates. Dressed in shorts, tank tops and flip flops, and clutching towels in their arms, they chorused: "Want to go drainage ditch diving with us?!" They waited with wide eyes in eager anticipation of my answer. Taking a deep breath, I counted the costs, and after a few seconds, "Well, of COURSE!" Thus ensued the next two hours of chasing down flooded drainage ditches all over Ft. Collins. What a blast!