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Once again the summer term is upon us. Once again lots of people are trying to decide what to do this summer (after they’ve been to see Godspell, of course). It’s sometimes a period of the year that people sometimes try and use for ‘Godly’ things; “if you can’t give a year of your life to God, then give a summer”. I personally have always found this remark misplaced and insulting — when I became a Christian I gave my whole life to God. Nonetheless, the summer holidays are a time when numerous opportunities are available, from helping with children’s camps to going to Greenbelt (one big children’s camp I hear!) and many more things in between.
Last year, I was very much of the opinion that God had something special in store for me in the summer. Not to be unfaithful, I found myself having to choose between a number of different options. The first I chose was two weeks on an mission course in Paris with IFES — a chance for God to show me that even I could be an evangelist. The average day consisted of waking at 6, breakfasting and morning prayer followed by a fairly intensive training course on techniques and methods of evangelism, as well as background on other religions such as Islam. The text we were advised to learn for vocabulary purposes, but were told would fall short on ‘deeper’ discussions, was called Deux façons á vivre (Hmm, that sounds familiar — Ed). A Mars Bar went to the first person each morning who knew it off by heart. Then followed street mission, our chance to preach to everyone and anyone who happened to be passing. After an initial feeling of being ‘thrown in at the deep end’, this was something most of us enjoyed, despite the late-morning to mid-afternoon sun (we were based on the streets outside Parisian universities). Lunch break in the canteen was permitted during this street work, again of an evangelistic nature. We were instructed to go and sit with someone we didn’t know and talk to them about Jesus over lunch. One of the quickest and easiest ways of bring the topic up for me was by saying the grace out loud. Needless to say, this attracted the odd glance or two. Having finished our street mission, we then got a short break before dinner and preparing for the evening’s talk. Once again, these were aimed at provoking thoughts about Jesus and Christianity, and were often run by us students. The day finally finished sometime between 12 and 2, depending on how enthusiastic the ping-pong players were that night.
Having done this, I was just a tad tired, yet it was a wonderful learning experience, both about myself, my limitations and the way God works through me. However, I decided something less strenuous was called for. The second ‘trip’ I took part in last summer was a fellowship excursion to the Czech Republic, where English, Germans and Czechs took the opportunity of a quiet atmosphere to share their faith and thoughts on various issues. This was really a period when I came to know God in a more complete way. For me, each of us has a personal relationship with God. Likewise, each different tradition or denomination sees God from a slightly different angle, thus it is only by sharing our ‘sight’ that we gain a fuller picture. The time with the Germans and Czechs really enabled me to see God in all sorts of things which had previously seemed devoid of love. Given that the group consisted of a number of youngsters, it was also a chance to be very silly (as if I needed an excuse!) and do all those silly things like water fights all over again.
After these two excursions into foreign parts, I still had enough time at home to work silly hours in a frozen chicken factory for three weeks in order to pay off my overdraft. God provides, but sometimes I worry about His sense of humour.
This year, summer plans were far from my mind, what with various commitments (like GODSPELL!). Once again, God did the spadework, and this summer I’ll be working in the city doing structural economic analysis. Not the most God-filled of activities, you may think. You’d be wrong. Just as Paris and the Czech Republic were blessings and a chance to do God’s work and know Him better, so London is a blessing and a chance to do His work too. Having done several forms of evangelism (I think ‘street singing’ with guitar was the scariest — for the public as well as me!), the most complete way people come to find God (in my experience) is when they see His love shining out of someone else’s life. By focusing on our relationship with God and living our lives in harmony with Him as much as is possible, we become those ‘lights of the world’ without even having to open our mouths. Our very lives put questions into the minds and mouths of others which we can then answer in the light of the truth we have found. Thus my time in London can be every bit as evangelistic as, and maybe even more effective than, Paris, and by looking for God’s love in those around me I hope to gain a deeper understanding of Him. As such, I am very much looking forward to this summer. Hopefully all of you are too. Consider the many different options available to you this summer, but don’t discount the more mundane or seemingly ‘less-spiritual’ ones. Grasp the opportunity firmly with both hands and make the most of it with and in God. What more can any of us do?
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Last modified: 25th November 2005