by Peter Park

College. What a blessing from God. As I look back at my college years, God has taught me more about Himself and how He works through the lives of His people to accomplish His will. Perhaps the most precious truth that God has taught me over the past 3 years, and is continuing to remind me everyday, is the glorious gospel.

For some reason, the truth of the Gospel, told to its entirety, has never been presented to me where I was challenged by the reality of it. Growing up, all I knew the message to be was that Jesus died on the cross for my sins so that I didn’t have to go to hell when I die. However, coming to LBC, I was challenged to think through our sinful condition and how much it separates us from a holy God who cannot tolerate unrighteousness because of His perfect character. I was challenged to consider not only to make a decision, but to commit myself as a disciple that would be willing to give up everything in order to follow Jesus Christ as Lord (Matthew 10:34-39). This made the gospel message, no longer just a pleasant, convenient message that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. But to follow requires dying to oneself’s former ways and living in perfect submission to the One that has died and was raised on our behalf (Galatians 2:20). The gospel has become so much more precious to me and has become the center-point of my faith, the lens that I see the world through, and the only means through which I can truly rejoice out of a genuine sense of love and praise for our Savior. It is because of the gospel now that I am able to fervently pray, passionately worship in spirit and truth, tirelessly love others, cheerfully serve in ministry, joyfully obey my parents and church leaders, and diligently study knowing that all glory goes to God (Romans 11:36).

I am excited to see another year of what God will do through our ministry. As a collegian approaching the end of my college career, I am looking forward to investing into the younger collegians to make disciples of Christ so that I may be salt and light to a lost and dying world (Matthew 5:13-16) and live for my Lord and master who has commissioned me to make disciples of all nations.