Well with two months left I have seen God's grace overflow in the lives all around me. I wanted to share a recent experience I had with the girls in my Bible study. Every Tuesday night, at 8:30, a group of girls from NMSU and myself meet at Barnes & Noble. It's a time for us to share our lives, struggles, funny stories and study the Bible together. Currently we are focusing on Paul's epistles. Galatians was awesome, but now we are in Ephesians, chapter 4 to be exact; which brings me to last Tuesday.
We had just finished reading this: "(v.14)Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. " Basically, we broke this down to understand that as we grow in our faith in the Lord, our knowledge of God and what He has accomplished, and in our spiritual maturity, we will ultimately grow up. We will not be like little kids (infants) who are confused and convinced by every charismatic statement or belief that comes our way. Instead, the Gospel will be alive and at work in our hearts so that we will know the truth and there will be no room for any lie or add on. So when we hear other's ideas, world views, convictions, religions, theories, etc...our world will not be turned upside down because we know the truth. Our foundation is on Christ and will not be shaken.
As soon as the words fell from our lips a man about our age (early-mid twenties), named Lance, came over and asked if we were doing a Bible study. We told him we were and he probed us with questions about our beliefs and wanted to know if we had heard of "the god of India" or this other Egyptian god. Lance explained to us that this "god" had the same story as Jesus, from being a deity, dying on the cross and even the Resurrection. In fact, the story of this Egyptian god was documented way before the time of Christ. He told us that he actually grew up in a Christian household but once he found out about all of this, he realized it was all a lie, just a story. With extreme bitterness and hurt in his eyes he bluntly stated that what we are studying and living for is just a story and we should really look into it because it is a joke.
I have two thoughts about this. Firstly, what an AMAZING God we have to give us a blatant and tangible example of what He was trying to communicate to us through his Word. Secondly, I wonder what happened to Lance that could build up such contempt for his Heavenly Father. I imagine that it had something to do with the church, the believers, or anything else that involves us humans because we are imperfect, sinful and totally selfish. Maybe he was let down by something or someone. But ultimately it broke my heart that something broke his so severely. I hope and pray I encounter this gentleman again so I can ask him...but this also excited me even more to go to Australia and meet other people like him, who are broken, hurt, hopeless, infants and unbelievers so that they can understand the love and graciousness of the God I serve. I want them to know how much God loves them and the sacrifices He made for them. Man, God is so good, even in the face of despair.
