40 Faces, 40 Places: A Devotional JourneySample

Mike from Norfolk

Sometimes whole-life discipleship looks like pointing to God’s bigger story.

My frontline is the university where I teach, with regular contact with undergraduate and graduate students. God is present in the young adults I teach and guide, people made in the image of God, struggling to make sense of themselves and the world around them.

As a professor of geography, I get to listen to them and guide their thinking and suggest everyone's need for a story bigger than themselves – a story that can make sense of their experiences, hopes, fears, and humanity's achievements and failings.

For me, that’s the Christian story. It explains the injustices of the world that students see and experience and why we feel so strongly that injustices are wrong and are to be challenged. Though I can't yet point to anyone who’s become a Christian, it is a chance to help them think more deeply about their worldview.

Often the values of the academic world and some of my students can seem in conflict with Christian values. There often seems to be a lack of grace and forgiveness when the academic world dismisses people for things they’ve said or not said. It’s easy for people to stereotype me according to their image of what a Christian is or is not.

As I seek to live out my faith in that context, I’ve found helpful discipleship resources and weekly articles.

Reflection

Mike reminds himself that everyone he meets is made in the image of God and is likely to be struggling to make sense of the world. How might our encounters with others change today if we reminded ourselves of those two things ahead of each encounter?

As Ecclesiastes indicates, our God has put a desire for eternity into the human heart. When those occasions come up to talk about his Christian worldview, Mike takes an approach that might resonate with his students. How might you communicate the hope of the gospel to those around you in a sensitive way to their particular concerns and needs?

Prayer

Lord, thank You for today’s reminder to view everyone I encounter as a person made in Your image. Please show me how to point people to Your story – a true story that’s bigger than any or all of us. Help me in all I say and covey to make Your story attractive and compelling.