Joyful Sincerity

The time i've spent at ACU has been short but meaningful. I went to church on Sunday with my parents and spent the rest of the day with friends. Monday (yesterday) was a day of study abroad classes which were really more like briefings. Today comprised of additional briefings and various delightful confrontations.

What I would like to highlight is Monday night, the last supper. I'm referring to the last supper that I consider my "last" before I leave the country for the semester. I know. Not very much of a last supper. As I grin thinking about the smiles that were shared between friends, I know how central Jesus is to students' lives. As I walk in this house with my Gourmet fast food, which was Taco Bueno, I smile when I immediately know the song that was playing: Sweet Baby James by James Taylor. As my glorious feast ensues, we were laughing about one thing one minute but sharing what was on our hearts the next. I truly loved seeing some of my best friends at ACU laughing about the little things and talking about the big things. I hear the same things from a friend who dropped out of school and chose to become homeless in Abilene, a student who did some mission work over the summer, another who said he will drop out because he has some radically awesome convictions and a student who is a spiritual anchor i've looked up to for a while: love one another. Throughout my very brief time in that house, I was reminded of Irresistible Revolution and how there are some Christians who are in love with Jesus and there are also some who are out of their minds. Yet, shouldn't loving Jesus and being out of your mind be pretty much the same thing?

I saw a girl today who had on a shirt that said 'Jesus Christ' on the front and 'Friend of Prostitutes, Tax Collectors and Sinners' on the back. At the time those words didn't really resonate within me but now I think of how

ridiculous

it was for someone to be hanging out with prostitutes and tax collectors just like they were any other person. Maybe that's just showing some unconditional love for your neighbors. 

I don't know.

I do know that in nine hours I leave for Dallas to catch a plane for Miami to catch a plane for Uruguay to have a remarkable semester. I'm just thinking that these couple days at ACU have reminded me of the most fundamental Christian action: how to love others. I don't suppose loving others will ever go out of style.