STUDENT BLOGGER of the WEEK: Christina Polk
It’s fascinating to me that I can
even type out a post about God allowing the Baptist Student Ministry at UT
Dallas to serve fajitas to over 1,000 students on their first day of classes.
The fact that our ever-growing group of students as a part of BSM as well as
several volunteers from surrounding churches came to campus on August 27th
and stood out in the heat passing out flyers, picking up trash, talking to new
students, and worshipping God proved to be an awesome picture of what it means to
be the hands and feet of Jesus. It’s not easy to go through all whole day of
having a new fall schedule and meeting new people, only to turn around and
serve 1,000 of them dinner. I remember getting out of my fourth class of the
day and seeing the line for the fajitas before I could even spot the tables for
the food in the distance. I remember how I thought about how starving I was,
and how it was going to take forever to get through the mass of people, and
then, God stopped that train of thought. Wait
a minute, he whispered. Is this not
what you’ve been waiting for, getting permission for, dreaming of? It was
convicting for me, to realize that I had put a limit on the size of this dinner
in my mind, put a limitation on God’s power. The same God that multiplied the
loaves of bread and fish for the little boy was the God that I served, and I
had minimized that power in my mind.
While
in line, all of my friends passed out our BSM cards with event times and
locations for the coming weeks, and got the contact information for everyone in
line so that we could keep in touch with all those who had never heard of our
organization. I was trying to spot a friend of mine that I was going to eat
with, and looked behind me against the glare of the sun. There was no sign of
my friend yet, but there were three Chinese girls right there. I was trying to
get my shy self to have the nerve to speak to them, but they were too fast for
me. “I’m Sarah,” one said. “And I’m Kate, and this is Yue,” another added. I
mentioned that my name was Christina and that I was very glad to meet them all.
We had the initial small talk questions about what our majors were, where we
lived, and how our first day had gone. Now
what? I wondered. “So, what do you think of America?” I asked. Sarah was
quick to respond. “Here, it is very free…” she paused. “It is nice, to decide
what I believe, to finally see that I am my own person.” I thought about China,
where she was from, and I agreed; it is nice to live in a place where I am
recognized for my individuality that God gifted me with. I thought about the
freedom that BSM had been given to host an entire dinner only for the purpose
of getting to know students and helping them to embrace community on a college
campus where deep friendships are sometimes hard to forge. What a gift is was
to host this meal and get to talk about Jesus to people in line, to share about
the freedom that we have in Him when He lives in us, how He emerges into our
every action, word, and prayer! Sarah thought about the freedom to have
whatever type of job she had chosen, but I could have the privilege of showing
her a different type of freedom that could only be found by laying one’s life
down to Him who offers freedom from every sin ever committed.
Before
school started, our BSM discussed community. We talked, and talked, and talked.
It created a mental picture, to be sure, but to actually be serving food and
taking trash to the dumpster, to be talking with the people who had been prayed
for before they ever set foot on the Student Union Steps that Monday night, was
the real deal. It was the difference between talking about washing someone’s
feet and actually dragging out the towel and water to do the job. When we talk
about blessing people in church, it is well and good, but to actually be doing
the blessing creates a joy like no other. Jesus taught this way; he would speak
for a bit about the Christian lifestyle, but mostly he showed by example. If we
are to be His followers in this world, we have to live our lives as an example.
This doesn’t mean we won’t mess up, but it does mean that we must continually
seek after Him and choose to be salt and a light in a world that has given
every opportunity to walk away from the gospel.
This
past Monday was all about living intentionally, seeking a way to reach students
through us offering free food. The fajitas were a way to introduce Jesus, but
Jesus was always held the spotlight. I believe this was shown after dinner was
served that evening, when everyone who wanted to was invited to worship with
BSM. When we sang songs like “Mighty to Save” and “From the Inside Out,” it was
so special to see students of all races, from completely different majors, with
personalities on opposite ends of the spectrum, all sitting together pouring
their hearts out. In church, it is often says that the cross is what binds us
together in Christian communities, and this was shown in the worship songs that
night. With every voice raised to Him who deserves praise, God received the
glory, and set the stage for a fellowship that I and everyone else in BSM hope
will continue throughout the coming year.
