As of about 36 hours ago, I’m done with my first week of school. It was a fun-filled, yet quite hectic week. I had little time to sit and relax because I was running around doing all sorts of Intervarsity and first-week activities. This year is looking like it will be a good one, even if it is a lot of work. I’ve made some awesome new friends and am continuing to meet new students.

Last night, at Intervarsity’s Outloud event, an IV staff worker from somewhere up north came and gave 3 “good” reasons to not be a Christian. Though the reasons were valid, it seemed to take a little bit of a stretch to explain them. I think it could have been a much more effective outreach if the approach had been different. Why do we need to tell people why not to be Christians in order to attract them to Christianity? That’s another problem. There was little, if any, mention of sin and our need for a Savior. The root of the Gospel is not about whether or not we want to be with God, whether or not we want a relationship with Him, but our sin and his grace. Christ came not to give us a relationship with God, but to save us from our sins and restore our relationship with Him…to restore communion with Him. In short, I don’t think the guy speaking last night said anything blatantly erroneous, but he didn’t clearly present the whole picture, the Gospel in its entirety.

During the question and answer session which followed the guy’s talk, a girl made a comment about it being difficult for some to follow Christ if their family members are condemned. In other words, how God could let one’s unsaved loved ones suffer eternal death? The love we feel for one another cannot begin to compare to the love Christ has for each and every person in this world. Go back to the commonly quoted John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” God loved the world. God’s love is perfect. God loves every human ever created infinitely more than we do. If, then, we experience hurt and anguish for our lost loved ones, consider how much more sorrow Christ experiences after shedding His blood for their sins. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” While God loves everyone deeply, people reject Him, continue to live in their sin, and, as a result, are destined for hell.

It’s 1:15 am now and I’m having trouble organizing my thoughts so I’ll quit writing there. Hopefully it will make some sense to you.