Pursuit

One of my students came to class a bit discouraged. He was not doing well in class. He had been trying hard, and things just weren't coming together for him. So there he sat. I knew that today would not be a day of accomplishing a lot. He was tired and discouraged, and just needed to talk. He had a lot on his mind anyway. His class is studying the Purpose Driven Life, and he had begun to ponder some things about his own life. "You know," he said, "my mom is a buddhist. She doesn't like anything about Christ. But since I've been in preschool, she has put me in schools that taught about Jesus. I don't know why she did that." We sat for a few seconds, and I said, "Well, it sounds as if Christ is pursuing you!" More moments passed as he tried to wrap his head around that thought. After a minute or so, his question came to mind. "Why would God choose me, when my whole family is not Christian, and they value education so much. And here I am trying hard and only making C's and D's?" We both sat there for a second. I was having a hard time keeping my composure. He was so confused and he was just laying his heart right out on the table. I smiled at him and said, "Because. It is God's favorite thing! To take those that man considers weak, and show Himself through them, so that all can know what God can do!" I could actually see his paradigm shifting. He sat there thinking, his mind racing. "So, I could be the one to show Christ to my whole family?" I looked at him as seriously as I could. "With Christ in your life, and you with a heart that's willing, I think your family is just the tip of the iceburg."
Our discussion continued until the bell rang, with him thinking out loud about all that could be done. His family, Taiwan, other nations.

I really didn't think anything would be accomplished this day. Shame on me.