Hello, I have been instructed to reflect on my time as chair of UWCCF this year. Disclaimer: I have never wrote a blog so we shall see how this goes LOL. In all seriousness, please enjoy and I do hope that as you read God would use the words that to encourage and grow you in your walk with Christ.
Who we are
Throughout Scripture, God reveals himself as the one true living God: holy, eternal, self-sufficient, self-sustaining, self-existent and self-explaining. He is the all-wise, all-powerful creator who is personal, compassionate, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. He is light, and in him is no darkness at all, and he does not change. Words fall cosmically short of describing his immensity. God fully revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ as the radiance of the Father’s glory and the imprint of his nature. This Jesus was fully divine, fully human, lived a sinless life, was slaughtered for the sins of the world, was raised from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of God. Those who repent and put their faith in him are cleared of all their iniquities, transgressions and sins, and receive the gift of eternal life. On this side of eternity, all of creation and those called to be in him groan and eagerly await Christ’s return and future glory. Before his return, God has chosen to use his people, the body of Christ to spread the gospel to people of all tongues, tribes, and nations. As Christians we are new creatures who have been given new hearts and desires to love and obey him, and to one day enjoy him forever.
Why we are here
The University of Waterloo is renowned for being an innovative school, home to dozens of co-op programs and countless bright students and staff. Even this past year, a professor from the school received a Nobel Prize in Physics. Despite the prestige and fame, people of this school are no different than anyone else; all are made in the image of God and have intrinsic value and eternal souls. And all who have not put their faith in Christ will not only be barred from entering into God’s joy, but perish during the final judgement. The young and old, popular and lonely, staff and student, rich and poor, wise and foolish, happy and depressed all ultimately strive and slave after fleeting pleasures that do not satisfy, and in doing so they make themselves to be their own gods, and rebel against the creator who made them. Like the rest of the world, there is much need of the gospel here, and praise God for the establishment of local churches and fellowships in the area.
Founded 50 years ago, UWCCF has grown tremendously into the fellowship that it is today. The vision of our fellowship is “That our love for Christ would be visible and change the lives of all on our campus.” One of the primary responsibilities as chair is to uphold the vision and guide our fellowship towards it. The task is by no means simple to achieve and is impossible without God’s power. UWCCF has been given a unique privilege and opportunity to labourers of this field, and God has supplied a body of believers with varying levels of skills, gifts, and maturity. This is by no means a bad thing, as all members of the body of Christ have a role to play, and God has gifted each individual with the ability to serve one another. But teaching and guiding the fellowship toward the vision while considering the maturity of the fellowship naturally leads to a tough balancing act between teaching the fundamentals of the gospel to young believers, and equipping mature ones to go and share the good news.
Lessons
Prior to taking on the mantle of chairing the committee, I felt unprepared and unequipped while having many desires for our fellowship. I wanted our fellowship to glorify God by having a greater, grander, wider and deeper vision of Christ. In a sense, this is how I saw our vision being fulfilled: that by God’s grace we behold Christ’s glory as God conforms us into his image from one degree of glory to another. Christ is the true vine that allows the outpouring of the heart. This place is where all external actions and good fruit flow from, whether it be in evangelism, standing up for the truth, putting sin to death or loving one another.
During the many months that I served as chair, God has taught me many things. Through serving, he revealed to me my tendency to be dependent on myself, to control, and to make my own plans and trust in them. This misplaced trust manifested in various ways:
- Deadlines and responsibilities relating to school and fellowship piling up on top of one another
- Repeated experiences of unplanned circumstances
- Letting down and being let down by myself and others
- Discontentment in unfilled desires.
All these things amalgamated into the enemy of stress, frustration, and dissatisfaction in life. Often times, I would choose apathy as my weapon of choice to combat this enemy. I chose to give into the desire to remove myself emotionally from the problem instead of responding to the trial by turning to Christ and his promises.
But God has been gracious. For these past few months, he has been leading me through the Old Testament. Through Exodus, he reminded me of his sovereignty; that he was the one who carried the Israelites out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. This was to foreshadow future deliverance from the bondage of sin. In Leviticus, he reminded me of his holiness, how he has commanded and called those in Christ to be set apart from the world so that he can dwell with us. This was to foreshadow the eternal joy of heaven. In Numbers, he reminded me that he was faithful and keeps his promises, even when the unfaithful Israelites grumbled and complained in the wilderness, pointing toward the church journeying in the wilderness during our age where they awaited the Promised Land. Thus, no matter the circumstance, in the midst of all the deadlines and responsibilities, God calls me to be trust him because he is in control. He is faithful and has forgiven me of my sins. He constantly reminds me that that my identity, worth and joy cannot be not found in performance, results, or circumstances but in Christ alone. While his work in me is on-going, my prayer for you is that you likewise would be reminded of Christ’s promises, and to trust him for your joy and his glory as He continues to do a good work in you.
Reflecting on these past few months have been fruitful, and I would like to leave you three exhortations.
- The first would be to read your Bible. Making a list of reasons why you should and need to read the Bible can be another post altogether, but for now I am imploring you to study, tarry and wrestle with the book, no matter how you are feeling about it on certain days.
- The second exhortation would be to be men and women of prayer. Similar to reading, I could also spend many paragraphs on the necessity of prayer but for now I would am urging you pray unceasingly. If there is one thing that I regret over these past year, it is that a great deal more time could have been spent with the Lord in reading and in prayer.
- This leads me to my third exhortation, which would be to make the best use of your time. We are given only so much and we too often take it for granted. The first priority in any believer’s life is to spend time with the Lord in preparation for eternity. Besides reading and praying, there are a plethora of things we can do with the time he has given us to do this. Studying, co-op, relaxing with friends are good things. But please do not neglect to invest in others and spread of the news of the kingdom for these things.
Serving the fellowship as chair was bittersweet, and I am thankful for all that God has taught me during this season. But at the end of the day, serving as chair is not much different than living a life with your eyes fixed on Christ, and being transformed by him. As you continue in your university journey, remember who you are. As Christians, we have been chosen before the foundation of the world to be a part of his Kingdom and enjoy him forever. Be filled with knowledge of the Lord’s will, walk in a manner worthy of him bearing fruit in every good work to the glory and praise of God.
