Scantily clad, she rose from her seat and interrupted my lecture mid-sentence asking where the restroom was. Stifling incredulity, I directed her down the hall to the left. All eyes upon her, I assumed her behavior was an attention-seeking tactic. However, praying for her later, it struck me she just wants to know she matters, and her appearance gets her validation, empty though it is. My prayers became that she would know Christ’s unconditional love…
His email sounded desperate. He failed the exam and was beside himself in shame. Failure was unacceptable in his world. Yet, he had failed nonetheless and now doubted his worth. While affirming his efforts, I attested grades do not define him. Tests simply measure what students can show they’ve retained from a given subject at a given time. They have nothing to do with one’s value or worth. Greatly relieved, he thanked me profusely…
Not only was she late for the exam, she could scarcely sit upright. After many distressing moments, she rose from her seat, slammed her test on the table, and stormed out the door. I followed her. “How can I help you?” I asked. We spoke briefly, as I assured her that I just wanted to make sure she was okay and let her know I was here for her, if she needed anything. Two weeks later, she came by my office. “I’m pregnant and don’t know what to do.” She needed to hear her future still had hope…
Intimated by his calloused demeanor, I prayed for him daily. Mustering courage, I stopped him after class one day and asked about his major. Many conversational minutes later, I said, “I believe in you. I am confident you will do well.” Wide-eyed, mouth agape, he replied, “No one has ever said they believe in me before.” He needed to feel accepted…
“I go by Richard,” said the fragile young lady standing before me in baggy boys clothes and colorfully dyed hair. Depression overtook her that semester. Following a hospital stay for attempted suicide, she groped for life through alternative religion. A starving soul desperate for meaning yet to be found. I still check up on her. She does not know her Savior yet, but she knows someone cares…
Flaunted physical beauty, unrealistic performance standards, indulged bodily passions, calloused emotional detachment, and confused sexual identity. Human means to mask brokenness, pain, and shame in vain pursuit of what is only found in Christ. Only in the gospel, the good news of God’s unmerited grace through Christ, can anyone find the unconditional love, intrinsic worth, eternal hope, genuine acceptance, and secure identity their hearts so desperately need.
As Christ’s ambassadors who are also professors, may we see in our students what God sees in us – flawed but priceless image bearers of a merciful, loving Father. And while we may seldom directly get to share the gospel message with our students, we always can show it. It is what their hungry hearts are dying for. Literally.
Holly Deal
Kennesaw State University