The Experience Magazine: Fall 2021

“In spite of Jay, the acts committed against choices he and others had made, God knew Jay, loved Jay, and had a plan for Jay.” him, and the poor

should have held celebration, but all it held was separation. I bounced from foster home to foster home and experienced every kind of abuse.” Despite the pain, his voice rises in triumph, and I can almost see that iconic photo, Phantom Punch , of Muhammad Ali standing over a KO’d Sonny Liston. “BUT God! God took me from where I was, and knowing all about my past, present, and future, adopted me into His family as His son, and has placed me right where I am today. ” In the same vein, Jay says that his pastor shared something impactful with him when he was younger, and it’s stuck with him ever since. “In spite of Jay, the acts committed against him, and the poor choices he and others had made, God knew Jay, loved Jay, and had a plan for Jay.” That can be a hard pill to swallow, especially when you don’t feel worthy.

“So often my students say, ‘If God really knew me, He wouldn’t love me.’ And I’m like, what God are YOU talking about? ‘Cause that’s not the God of the Bible.” His voice is full of laughter, but I can tell he means every word. He continues on, saying, “Your feelings may tell you that, but they aren’t facts. I see so much guilt, shame, and pain in the students I serve. I encourage them to ask God for spiritual ears to hear, and I walk through the scriptures with them. In Romans 8, verse 31, we are identified as already being

students to become reproducing reproducers.”

We chat for a few minutes more until Jay has to head out and prepare for a conference. His work at USF keeps him busier than ever, and that’s on top of his most important ministry – at home, with Fina and the kids. Before he goes, however, he leaves me with some thoughts. “You know, we all look for cultural cues and to others instead of to our Creator for validation. But,

"... until we look vertically to Christ, we will be restless in our souls."

conquerors. We, as His children, already have good standing with God, and we can’t be separated from Him, not even by ourselves and our sin. He is madly in love with you, and I’m gonna repeat this again… there’s nothing you can do about it. You can’t help but want to tell others about a love like that. That’s what pushes

until we look vertically to Christ, we will be restless in our souls. We all desire to be fully known and fully loved. That desire is fulfilled in Christ and proven through His work on the cross! We simply need to look to Him, remind ourselves of what He says about us in the Word, and rest in that.” To that I say, amen.

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The Experience

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