Convo Connection
“Every day I try to live my life in such a way that I will accomplish at least one thing that will outlive me for eternity.”
These words spoken by Liberty alumnus and President of World Help Vernon Brewer laid an enduring foundation and set the stage for a fiercely impactful week of Convocation.
Brewer described the brutality of what ISIS is doing as they seek to cleanse the world of all infidels (Christ followers). He went on to share how Christians are being marked with the Arabic letter equivalent to the letter “N” for Nazarene, or Christ follower, a mark now synonymous with torture, genocide and death.
Students were encouraged to use their voice to raise awareness for suffering Christians in the Middle East, Syria and Iraq by using social media and the #WeAreN. Brewer shared the traumatic story of how a 5-year-old boy was literally cut in half by ISIS while his family stood by helplessly and watched.
“Lord, please do something,” I cried silently. And as if he were sitting right next to me, I heard that still, small, commanding voice respond, “I did. I
gave you Jesus.”
In the midst of the countless atrocities unfolding across the globe, Jesus is, and always will be, our greatest need and only hope. He changes everything. Because of Christ in us, the hope of glory, we can be agents of hope in this world. There is dire need everywhere — a need that eclipses our resources and strength. Where, then, do we start? We can impact lives through praying for the persecuted church.
I was challenged yet again Wednesday with this question from Fox News radio host Todd Starnes, “Who among you is willing to take a stand in the face of persecution?” I was shaken to the core and asked myself, “Am I willing to stand?”
Starnes, author of “God Less America,” spoke to us about the attacks on religious liberties. Thousands of people around our world are being killed because of their faith
in Jesus Christ.
What are we going to do about it? God is preparing us in this very moment to go into all the world and preach the gospel. “All the world” may mean going to places where the name of Jesus is hated and where killing Christians is not just accepted, but applauded. It starts with us.
It begins with our willingness to intentionally abandon our comfort zone as God leads. Shelene Bryan, humanitarian and author of “Love, Skip, and Jump,” ended last week’s convocation fervently asking, “When was the last time you did something that made you uncomfortable?” Bryan went on to share how the worldly façade of comfort and safety had almost paralyzed her until God strategically brought her out of her comfort zone for his glory. As Bryan enthusiastically shared her journey, I began to ponder the many moments when God has led me from the coziness of my comfort zone to wander through the wilderness of a radical faith in him. In doing so, I realized there was still part of me that was longing for the familiar, the comfortable, the controllability of earthly security.
These moments were preparing me for something beyond myself, something that only God can do in and through me. The fallow ground in my heart was being broken up to ready my soul for the seeds of a faith that would bear life-changing fruit. In all of my uncomfortable circumstances, God is preparing me for a time when comfort can only be found in Jesus.
What do you want to be known for? Sitting on the sidelines or getting in the game? As Bryan said, “We need to start getting comfortable with
being uncomfortable.”