Monday, August 16, 2010

Making Christ Known

Friends,

God has blessed me and this ministry abundantly. As I have meditated on God's sovereignty and faithfulness, God has responded with more than I could ask or imagine. On Sunday, I moved into the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house in West Lafayette, IN. The house has invited me in as their house director, introducing several new challenges and ministry opportunities with the Greek students. By God's grace and glorious riches, I am also fully funded for the academic year and a quarter of the way to being funded for the coming summer's missions!

As I reflect on the transition I am making into the campus, I am finding even more need for Christ. I have specifically meditated on John 17 alongside the staff team. It is a beautiful prayer from our Lord to the Father for us. The passage reflects the obedience of the Son and His compassion for us; the prayer is the verbal expression of all that Jesus desires. This is what I have learned from meditating on this passage:

Eternal Vision

"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent... But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves." ~verses 3, 13

The reason for the gospel of Jesus Christ was this - that everyone would come to know God in a way unadulterated by sin and brokenness, permitting us to give God glory and enjoy Him for all eternity.

Unity

"I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are... The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You have sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me." ~verses 11, 22-23

It is the Holy Trinity itself that represents what we cannot possibly imagine yet hope for in the ages to come. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are united in power and purpose, and They have sent Jesus Christ to the world so that we may be united with Them and with each other. As a team, we have studied and meditated on Christ-modeled community. By our very unity in love, the world will come to know our Savior.

God's Protection

"I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one." ~verse 14

"But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head." ~Psalm 3:3

I ask that you continue to be fervent in your prayer against the evil one who strives to obstruct our vision of God and desires to shatter our unity with one another. The staff team continues to endure and persevere through early trials as we continue to grow in love for each other and for God. This week may be the busiest week so far, and we must not stop seeking the God that binds us together. We have prepared our hearts for this moment, for reaching thousands of students are moving onto a university campus for the first time. Give thanks for the harvest we will reap!

I especially ask you to continue to pray to Jehovah Jireh, our God who provides. Though my funding account suggests that I have reached my goal, do not cease in praying for funds to continue pouring into the team. I cannot fully rejoice if the team with whom I desire to be as one is not yet ready to remain on campus this semester.

By His Grace,
Jon Chen