This was written by David Bouckley, one of the new students at Christian union:
Generally, the more you spend time with someone, the better you know them. The more you see each other, the closer you become, the more you learn about them. And for that, the weekend away was fantastic. But what makes the CU weekend away so much more? So much more than getting to know the people you socialise with better, so much more than a relaxing weekend with mates? It’s the God in the weekend, the way that he develops you, and the way that he teaches you so much more about yourself.
There’s a fairly famous passage in Mark (whose gospel we were looking at) that states “Jesus, overhearing, shot back “Who needs a Doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit”"(Mark 2:17, the message) – Jesus came for the sick, those who are spiritually sick, to heal them, to get them on the right track, to guide and help them along…
But, compared to Jesus, who is spiritually sick?, Jesus, wholly God yet Wholly human, diagnosing the spiritually sick – who is he visiting? Who is he here for? Hence came the first blow, the first thing we learnt about ourselves – lesson 1 – we are ALL spiritually sick. All of us, everyone.
Take a look at chapter 2;1-12, Jesus heals a paraplegic. (hyperlink leads to a modern take on the passage – well worth watching!) Jesus’ main problem with the paralysed man was his sin! He has a major, underlying problem with our sin, we are all spiritually sick, and therefore need a spiritual doctor.
But If we are under so much sin, buried under our past, completely in debt due to the wrong we’ve done, what can we do? how can I make a difference to this? what can I do to deserve forgiveness?
Society teaches us that we are defined by what we do, and that we have to work to receive/deserve certain favours, benefits, etc. God teaches us that we don’t have to do anything to deserve his love. There’s nothing we can do to dig ourselves out of this hole we’re in. God loves us so much – Our God has always been a God of Grace, meaning our sin was wiped clean by the sacrifice Jesus made for us. We cannot deserve forgiveness, there is nothing we can do to redeem ourselves in Gods eyes. Lesson 2 – we can do nothing to redeem ourselves trust in Gods’ Grace.
That’s what made the CU weekend away so much more! It doesn’t seem to pose us in a very good position, those two lessons, being told a)you’re severely ill and b) there’s nothing you can do about it, But Gods grace has cleaned our slate, had wiped away all of that spiritual illness. And although illness does come back, and will come back, we will all be, at some time or another, spiritually ill, God has always been a God of Grace, and will always be there to wipe your sin away once more.
The weekend away was a fantastic chance to get to know each other, to develop in ourselves, and to develop our relationships with our friends, but it was a weekend of vital re-assessment of where we were in our lives with God, and where we wanted to go from here.
Want to know more – please don’t hesitate to contact us at the CU, or pop along any monday evening from 7 in university house.