There is a pleasant quiet over the campus of the University of Alberta. In a few days about 35,000 students will arrive, and the place will be buzzing.
Later this week we are having a few hundred international students over for lunch. It often strikes me in the many conversations I've had over the years that many students come from places where the proclamation of the Gospel is at best hindered, and at worse, results in persecution. The freedom to explore, to read the Scriptures, to gather as Christians, is often taken for granted by folks like me.
Perhaps we come to think that those in our culture who are not followers of Jesus have made an informed and free choice in that regard. That may be true. I would also have to say that the opposite is often true of those who do not come from places where such freedoms are afforded. For a number of students, this will be the first time they can freely explore the possibility which we have come to call the Gospel. Some will have a bit of knowledge about "Christianity", whether technically accurate or in caricature.
We have many students from around the world coming here. In short, we have a geographically reversed mission field.
There's someone I'd like you to meet. You'll find He's more than what you may have heard about Him.
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