It is my last year of college at Monmouth University and life is just flying by! I’ve been learning so much about God’s character and myself. I am simply amazed at how He is working tremendously in my life and in the students at my school. On campus I am involved in Cru, which is a well-known college ministry. One of the main goals of the club is to lead people to Christ.
Class at Monmouth University
It’s kind of strange to think, but I see myself as a missionary. I know that when most people hear the word missionary they think of someone who goes out to a foreign land to share Jesus with people who don’t know him. Well, I see myself as doing just that. I’m on a college campus, which is almost like a foreign land; college is so different than the real world. Everyone is trying new things, experimenting with drugs, sex, and alcohol all while trying to figure out who they are, what their purpose in life is, and why the world is the way it is. A typical student a Monmouth University knows about God, or knows that Jesus is a religious figure, but they have no clue who Jesus really is and what he did for all of us. Through all of that I’m trying to share Jesus with thousands of people the truth of who Jesus is.
I see it this way; we can all be missionaries right where we are. There are people everywhere who do not know the gospel. They know about church but most people do not fully understand the weight of the gospel and its relevance to their life.
A couple weeks ago I was sitting in my literature class dosing off, because lets face it I am a health studies major, and literature is not my cup of tea! So was sitting in class, and my teacher mentioned that our next assignment would be to read the first couple chapters of Genesis. So I immediately woke up and was super excited. I was so happy because I was like wohooo I know Genesis I’m totally going to Ace this assignment! I went home, wrote my paper on how Adam and Eve’s actions, when they ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge, affected all of mankind.
I got to class the next week and my teacher asked for some volunteers to share what they wrote in their papers. Now if anyone knows me you would know that I am probably the quietest person in the whole entire world. I do not volunteer to speak in public; I hardly speak in small group settings! As the teacher was asking for volunteers I felt like the Lord was telling me to share my paper with my class, and not only share my paper, but also share the whole gospel with my class of 25 students! So in my head I was like ummm no God, I’m not doing that today! I really just wanted to ignore the Lord’s voice because I was super scared! I knew sharing the gospel with my class would be uncomfortable. I was scared of what they would think of me. It’s so nerve wracking to talk to people about God especially in a college setting where there are many people who claim to be atheists. So because of all those reasons I just sat back and listened to what my classmates were saying about God.
As they started speaking I began to realize that these people had no idea what the Bible really has to say about the fall of mankind. One girl in my class said, “Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God there is sin in the world and now we all have to do good things to get rid of the sin.” I cringed when she said this because so many people think that is the case. They think that by doing good things they can gain their way into heaven, but the Bible says in John 1:12:
“ By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”
Jesus is the only way to heaven; we can never do enough good things to reach God.
I was sitting there thinking to myself well I know the truth, but none these students do, so I finally listened to God and decided to share my paper and the gospel with my class. I stood up and began by saying; God loves all of us so much. We can even see it in the story of creation. The Bible says He took so much care in creating mankind. He intended for everything to be perfect and for us to have a perfect relationship with him. Then the fall happened and our perfect relationship with God was broken. We were separated from God because he is so holy and perfect and we are not, so we cannot reach him. But God is so great he doesn’t leave the story like that. Later on in the Bible God sends his one and only son Jesus to die on the cross for us to bridge the gap between God, and us so that now our relationship with God can be restored. Jesus rose from the dead after 3 days and now we all have a choice to make whether to accept this awesome gift or to not.
After I shared this everyone in my class looked at me like I was crazy! They had never heard someone talk about Jesus like this. They all just thought he was a good man who died for our sins, but they never really understood why he had to die and what that really even meant for their lives.
I just think this is so awesome because 25 people heard the gospel that day! 25 people who knew nothing about Jesus learned about who he was and how amazing his gift is to us. 25 people had seeds planted in them and are now thinking about God and his relevance to their life!
Zara sharing this testimony at Jersey Cru
God is so amazing I can see him working in and through me so much this year. A year ago I would have never done something like this, but today through the power of the Holy Spirit, I can face my fears, and be bold because I know I find my identity in Christ. It doesn’t matter if my classmates went home that night and talked about the crazy girl in their class because I know what God thinks of me. He sees his beautiful creation and that is really all that matters. Stay encouraged and take a moment this week to thank God for the gospel. Thank him for his precious gift to us, and I pray that we all start to realize how relevant the gospel is to our every day life!
ZJ
reJOYce Ministries 