Christ and the college student continued
student body president, trust their lives to Christ and begin a new adventure with Him. In four years of working with college students we have seen many student body pres idents, beauty queens, All-Ameri cans such as Donn Moomaw, Bob Davenport, Jack Ellena, Primo Vil lanueva and others, give Christ priority in their lives. These out standing leaders, plus hundreds of splendid young men and women who are not so well-known, but just as important in the eyes of God, have found that the applause of the crowds, the thrill of the grid iron, the honors and popularity of collegiate life, are not enough to satisfy; for basically, as St. Augus tine said many centuries ago, “ Thou hast made us for Thyself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” More recently, Pascal, the great French physicist and philosopher, said as he described the longing in the heart of each man, “ There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be sat isfied by any created thing but only by God, the creator, made known through Jesus Christ.” To some of you who are reading this article, there comes this ques tion, “How can a man who lived almost 2,000 years ago make life more meaningful for a collegian to day; or for that matter, for anyone, no matter what his age, color or creed? You say, tell us about Him, Who is He, what is He like? His name is Jesus of Nazareth. He was bom in Bethlehem of Judea nearly 2,000 years ago. For hundreds of years the great prophets of Israel had foretold His coming. The Old Test ament, which was written by many individuals over a period of 1,500 years, contains over 300 references to His coming. His vocation was that of a carpenter. At the age of 30, He began His public ministry. Space will not allow for details ex cept to say that in the three years
that followed, He gave man the formula for a full and abundant life now, and for a life to come. The life Jesus lived, the miracles He performed, the words He spoke, His death on the cross, His resur rection, His ascension into Heaven —all point to the fact that He was not a mere man, but more than man—as He Himself claimed. He said, “ I and my Father are one; he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” Will Durant, one of the most popular philosophers and historians of our time, was asked what he felt to be the apex of history. His reply: “ The three years that Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth.” Napoleon, during the days of his exile, was speaking to some of his friends concerning the life of Jesus something like this: “ Charlemagne, Caesar, Alexander and myself have conquered great empires by force. Jesus of Nazareth conquered by love. Today millions would die for Him.” It is interesting to note that the Encyclopedia Britannica has over 40,000 words about the life of About the Au thor Bill Bright is a young business man who devotes most of his time to a nation wide organization called “Campus Cru sade for Christ.” During student days Bright was editor of his college yearbook, later president of the student body, member of Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities and recipient of numerous other awards and honors. Upon graduation from college, he taught at Oklahoma A. & M. College and resigned his position to go to California where he started his own manufacturing business. He became a Christian in 1945, and beginning in 1946 until 1950 he attended Princeton Theological Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary while oper ating his business. He has never been ordained, yet uses his theological and business training as a unique combination in preaching the gospel.
Jesus. Arnold Toynbee, one of the most eminent historians of all time, gives more space to Jesus of Naza reth than any six great men who ever lived, including Mohammed, Caesar, Napoleon, Alexander. Phil lips Brooks once said, “ I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever were built, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as power fully as has that one solitary life, the life of Christ.” It is interesting to consider that here is a man who claimed to be God, He claimed to be the author of a new way of life; and, interest ingly enough, wherever this mes sage has gone, new life, new hope and purpose for living have re sulted. Either Jesus of Nazareth was who He claimed to be, the Son of God and the Saviour of mankind, or He was the greatest imposter that the world has ever known. Now, some of you may say, “Why do you tell us about Jesus? We believe all this, and frankly, we see nothing to get excited about.” I know what you mean, for as a young man I grew up in a church, and was baptized at the age of 12, and was very active in a young peoples’ society. Yet, when I went away to college, I left my religion behind. I didn’t really lose my faith, for I later discovered that I had none to lose. There is a vast difference between being religious and being a follower of Christ. Be- ligion is man’s fruitless searching after God, groping in the darkness, seeking, ever seeking, but never finding. On the other hand, Christ is the revelation of God Himself. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is actually God in human form. There’s a story I like that illus trates why God came into time and history in the form of a man. A naturalist who was walking along a field’s edge found a huge ant hill.
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TH E K IN G 'S BU SINESS
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