There was a different kind of joy in his voice when he called me. I seriously thought my son had met a girl.😍
My son: “Hey mamma.”
Me: “Hey Joshie…How was your day?”
My son: “Oh, it was GREAT!
Me: “GREAT? WHY GREAT? TELL ME!”
{This is where I thought I’d hear all about the amazing girl he met}
Josh began to tell me about his communications class. His professor’s assignment for that day was for each student to give a 2 minute impromptu persuasive speech.
His fellow students seemed to be keeping the subject matter light, so my son decided to go with the flow and do the same. His topic- “Why Tom Brady is still the best quarterback of all time.” 🙄
One by one, students gave their speeches.
Then, one of his classmates took the stage. She stated her topic, “Why girls should choose a lesbian lifestyle.” Her persuasive points included sexual exploration and how your best friend could also be your girlfriend.
Josh looked around. Everyone was listening intently, nodding their heads, smiling and soaking it all in. No one even seemed fazed.
Then…another girl took the stage.
Her persuasive speech was about “The benefits of 3 in 1 shampoo.” Pretty harmless topic…you’d think.
“Imagine you’re at a bar and a guy walks up to you and says the words every girl is dying to hear- ‘Do you want to come over to my place?’ You go to his place and before, well, you know, {she raises her eyebrows}, you ask him where his bathroom is. You go inside and that’s where you spot a bottle of 3 in 1 shampoo.” His classmate then proceeded to talk about the shampoo.
Josh looked around. Her intro was definitely an attention grabber. But his heart sank when he saw how, once again, sin had become so fun. His impromptu speech became even more impromptu as he quickly decided to change his topic. If they could be so bold, he could too.
With a college campus of over 70,000 students, and only one month left of school, he also knew he might never have this opportunity again. Josh walked to the front of the class, cleared his throat and began his impromptu speech.
“Raise your hand if you have ever told a lie.” With every hand raised, my son continued.
“Okay, I guess that makes us all liars.”
“Who here has ever stolen anything?”
“Who here has ever looked at someone in lust?”
The hands continued to raise.
“Well, Jesus says if you’ve even looked at someone with lust, you’ve committed adultery. So, if that’s the case, it looks like this room is filled with liars, thieves and adulterers- including myself.”
“Now entertain me for a minute.
Let’s say, there’s a God out there. A God who created this world, and let’s say THAT God has a guidebook which instructs us on how we should live.”
With the power of the Holy Spirit, my son presented the gospel in about 2 minutes.
He spoke about sin, the consequences of sin, and how Jesus came to this earth, died for our sins and rose again. He concluded his speech with this persuasive charge.
“If you haven’t already, I want to encourage you to give Christianity a chance. Don’t take my word for it. Do your own research. This guidebook, my Bible, is proven to be historically accurate and has changed my life. If you have any questions, feel free to talk to me after class.”
One student did.
This girl had been wrestling with some stuff. Over the past few weeks she felt a tug and sensed that God was trying to get her attention…and now this- she heard Josh’s speech.
Friends, this world is dark.
People are struggling.
My son is a volunteer greeter at a large campus Bible study. Every Tuesday evening, he arrives early and welcomes students into the arena where the Bible study is held. (See pic above of Josh and his co-greeter)
But that day he realized the students in his class might not ever step foot inside the Tuesday night Bible study arena or even inside a church. He knew it was HIS turn…to not just greet, but to speak.
1 Peter 3:15 tells us to “Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you.”
I was inspired by my son’s boldness and his pure joy in sharing the gospel. It’s one thing to tell Jesus loving people more about Jesus…I’m great at that 🙋🏽♀️ BUT it’s a whole other thing to tell people who don’t know they need Jesus about Jesus.
The truth is, we don’t need a stage or a class of attentive students who are required to listen to us in order to get their 3 hour communications credit. We simply need to be obedient to God’s little nudges and reach out to one hurting soul at a time.
So yeah, I guess you could say my son met a girl…and he pointed her straight to Jesus.
I pray I have the boldness to do the same.
~binu
📸credit- Breakaway Ministries