Early Wednesday morning, we drove the hour from Lincoln to Omaha. The atheist club on campus came out in strong forces, including Alumni of the club, to oppose Tom. As he preached and answered questions, they interjected arguments into nearly all that he was saying in an effort to keep people from listening to him. Instead, this drew a bigger crowd of people who stopped to listen.
A large group from the Rock, the church's college group on campus, was able to come out and work the table so that we were more able to talk to students or listen as Tom preached throughout the day. Many students stopped by to grab Inspired Evidence and many had questions about the Rock group and how to get involved. At one point when I was manning the table, a girl was passing by and I asked if she wanted a book when she glanced at the table. She hesitated, and I told her it was free. Still hesitating, she told me she was a nondenominational Christian. Well, that's great! Take a book?
I ended up talking to Irena, an English major, for the next hour and a half. Irena epitomizes the general population of young people in America: While calling herself a Christian, she has never read the Bible and accepts whatever the general public has to say about it. This is because, to quote her, "People take it and change it and make it say things it doesn't." I discussed the importance of reading the Bible for oneself in order to know what it really means. I told her that no matter who you are, it is absolutely necessary to know what the Bible says so that when you hear something false about it, you won't be led astray. Then, no matter what others say about it, you will know when they 'make it say things it doesn't!'
I talked about the validity of Jesus Christ and the importance of His miracles, His acceptance of worship, and His resurrection from the dead as all being proof for Him being who He claimed to be: God in human form. When I thought my explaination about Jesus being God was pretty clear, I asked what she would say if she were to stand before God and He were to ask, "Why should I allow you into my heaven?" She paused and stared off into space. "Wow, that's actually a really good question..." her voice trailed off. In the next few seconds, Irena summarized the answer I've heard nearly everyone say who is not 100% certain of salvation say: "I'd like to think that what I've done has all added up to being good enough. I mean, I've been a very selfless person all my life and I've given people the benefit of the doubt, which has made me get really screwed over at times. So, I think God would let me in because of that," she concluded.
Note, this response was right after discussing how Jesus' claim to be God meant He was either a liar, a crazy man, or actually the God he claimed to be. I silently begged God for wisdom so that I would be able to clearly explain not only the validity of the Bible, but also the claims of Jesus to Irena. Turning to Ephesians 2:8,9, I read to her, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast."
A little earlier in that same chapter, verse four declares, "But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved."
I also shared 1 John 4:9,10 with her: "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (NIV)
Irena's eyes brightened after hearing these verses, and she declared them to be incredibly intriguing. At one point in the discussion, she brought up the new Catholic Pope, exclaiming how excited she was about his declaration that atheists can go to heaven if they are good enough. Here I was able to raise some questions: 1)The Bible declares that God does not change (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17) 2)We have no proof that manuscripts of the bible were ever changed or corrupted; 3)Based off of these two factors, I asked, why is it okay for this pope, who claims to know God, to choose to change what God has said? Is God simply a figment of the church's imagination, that we can change him according to our liking when culture changes?
It was clear that Irena didn't like accepting a relativistic ideal concerning this case, because she frowned and got a very thoughtful look on her face after this question. After she did not answer, I gently explained that the evidence for God's existence and the validity of the Bible is enough that I wanted to challenge her not to ignore it. I commended her (phenomenal!) reading skills and memory as an English major, and encouraged her to figure out for herself who Jesus is, and if what the bible says about him is true. By this time, the crew had begun tearing down for the day, and I needed to go find the van so we could load up. I gave her a tract as we parted and challenged her to never stop seeking the answer of who Jesus is, until she has found Him. Oh Lord, I pray for Irena. I pray that she would find you, and that she would get her own Bible and read it as she promised me she would. Speak Your truth into her heart! May I see her in heaven somday. To You be the glory! Amen.
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