Christian students share faith
Campus Crusade for Christ Club met on Thursday to worship Jesus Christ, study the Scriptures and to be grateful to have the opportunity to come together as Christians on the Saddleback College campus.
“I, myself, am Christian,” Emily Torres, 19, psychology, said, “and I was looking around for a place where I can make friends and talk about the Lord.”
Torres converted to Christianity after her family fell on difficult times and a neighbor decided to help out by imparting the Christian faith.
The club’s meeting style was similar to a youth group, full of songs and music, followed by a devotional, where the students talked about God and read the Bible.
The group discussed a Biblical passage, which begun “Go down to the potter’s house and there I will give you my message” (Jeremiah 18:2). According to Scriptures, Jeremiah was a prophet sent by God to help the people of Israel to come back to the Lord.
In this passage, God watches a potter remold a marred, clay pot, declaring that “like clay in the hands of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel” (Jeremiah 18:7).
“Paul refers to God as the potter a couple of times,” David Lijima, 23, cultural studies, said. “Romans Chapter 9 [also] talks about people being made.”
During the meeting, a mixed opinion developed concerning the clay and who is to blame for it being marred. The clay was apparently an allegory for the corrupt nature of humankind. The club members deliberated whether or not God predetermines who is going to be wicked, and if there is anything that the wicked can do about it, since some cases in the Bible appear doomed from the start.
“Some people are made to be vessels of honor and some, dishonor,” Lijima said. “This is a big problem for Christians.”
Nate Wada, 23, said that God responds to what people choose to do. Lijima made Wada question his claim by saying that God knows what people will do. If He doesn’t, that means that His power is undermined.
“God is saying to Jeremiah that there is a way out, if you let me speak to your people through you,” said Lijima.
Wada responded by saying “I think that the free will of men and the sovereignty of God, they run together, kind of like train tracks.”
The interest in the room peaked well after the club was intended to end, with opinions about Calvinism, free will being an illusion, discontent with the idea that God died for the elite, marriage, whit, theology and more all being discussed.
All students are welcome to join the Campus Crusade of Christ Club, which meets for an hour in the Science and Math building Room 204, Thursdays at 3 p.m. The meeting is an open-minded and safe place for anyone who wants to talk about faith, Christianity and Jesus Christ, or just pray and receive support. For more information email David Lijima at [email protected].