StudentLife News April 2019

Christian background students with basic questions

It happens a few times every semester that I meet a Christian student that has basic questions about the Christian faith. This happens in different settings, during our weekly campus conversations, on a retreat, or at a church. This month together with Pia we met a student from India who comes from a Christian background. She is not involved with a church while in The Netherlands. Still believes some of the basics of the Christian faith. But she was not confident about her relationship with God. She also had many questions related to interpreting the Bible and how to practice her beliefs in daily life.

Big questions of life

Here are some of the questions we asked her and how she responded.

What gives your live value and meaning?

Her answer was “family, contributing to society, and impacting people’s lives. Otherwise, life would be boring.” This generation is concerned about social and global issues, especially how to contribute to the improvement of peoples’ lives. That’s great to see! Her values come from her Christian upbringing, family, friends and society.

What do you want to accomplish by the end of your life?

“Religiously, I want to live a good life without having regrets. Professionally, I want to have a positive impact on people’s lives. This supplements my personal life, also. I hope that after I am gone people will miss me because I meant something to them.” I asked her what she meant about leading a “good life.” Moral values, values I get from the Bible” was her answer.

Am I good enough?

What happens to people after they die?

“Death is like a sleep. When God comes back there will be a resurrection. Both good and not good people will be resurrected. The good people will live forever with God.” I asked her, “Will you be part of the group that will live with God? Or does this thought of separation from God scare you? What does this mean to you in your daily life?” She thought about this one a little longer. She then said, “If I fix everything, then yes, I will be with God forever.” I double checked about what the “if I fix everything” meant to her. Here comes the surprise. She mentioned mainly external things, such as smoking, drinking, live a godly life.

What do you think about God?

“God is loving, he sacrifices himself for others. God is unselfish. He is also powerful.” I pointed out, “If God is loving then he is also a person, and therefore relational. Do you have a relationship with God? How would you describe this?” Her reply was that it is a relationship that is “on and off.” She used the phrase “I feel disconnected with God at the moment.” I asked, “why do you feel disconnected from God?” This time she mentioned that she was not keeping the “Sabbath, a day of rest,” and also “I am also drinking alcohol sometimes, I should not be doing this as a Christian.” She thought that this is what the Bible says, the way her parents and church background taught her.

Who in your opinion was Jesus?

“Jesus is the saviour for our sins. He is also our example for the way to live our lives.” I asked, “What is sin?” She said, “Sin is anything we do that is against God or his laws.” She also said that someone is a Christian if he reflects God and his character. My last question was this, “If it were possible, would you want to know God in a personal way? Why?” She said, “Yes, I would like to know God because there are some things that are not clear in my mind. God could give me answers to these questions.”

Conversations at TU Delft February 2019

“Well, would you like to meet again and talk further about some of these questions with us.” She said, “Now I am busy but at some point, I would like to talk further. We gave her our contact details and pray that we will have another opportunity to talk further.

Key volunteer students

Our two key volunteer students, Simon and Sebastiaan, did a great work leading the weekly outreach group in Delft. Simon will take a national role this month. Sebastiaan will probably not be in Delft after the summer vacations. Together with them, we are inviting students to become key volunteers and continue leading this group. We are also doing the same thing in Rotterdam and The Hague, seeking to find more key volunteers. Contacts of Christian students you might know in these cities and prayer is welcomed.

Key volunteer students make all the difference in campus outreach

Notes

– Proofreading Dan Truitt

– Ask God one question. Read here questions students would ask God.

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