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IN SEARCH OF THE TRUE JESUS

Tempo di lettura: 4 minuti

By Francesco Schiano Lomoriello, GBU Staff in Naples.

The expression ‘search for the historical Jesus’ refers to the effort to reconstruct a portrait of Jesus of Nazareth that bypasses that offered by the gospels, in order to come as close as possible to the historical truth.

The starting assumption is that the authors of the Gospels were not motivated by a desire to report objective truth, but by theological and doctrinal intentions. Therefore, they are accused of having included in their accounts facts that did not really happen, or at least not in the manner described, in order to support the positions of the Christian communities of which they were an expression.

Three stages of research

Today, three phases of research can be recognised:

– The first developed between the 18th and the early part of the 20th century. Illuminist-derived Rationalism led scholars such as Hermann Reimarus to suggest the difference between the ‘Christ of Faith’ and the ‘Jesus of History’. Biographies of Jesus were written that were above all an attempt to rationalise and naturalise the gospels, purging them of all supernatural elements. Rudolf Bultmann was the last protagonist of this phase and the one who put an end to it. He suggested that the Jesus of History was inaccessible to research. This conclusion was motivated by the observation that every biography of Jesus published in the previous two centuries had offered a different portrait from the others, fuelled not so much by the desired criteria of objectivity, but by the orientation and prejudices of those who had proposed it.

– It was in fact a disciple of Bultmann, Ernst Kasemann, who was the initiator of the second wave of studies on the historical Jesus. Convinced, unlike his master, of the possibility of bridging the gap between the Christ of Faith and the Jesus of History through the critical study of New Testament texts. It was the middle of the 20th century and this season was short-lived because important archaeological discoveries imposed a new approach to research.

– Studies based on discoveries such as the Nag Hammadi Library and the Qumran Scrolls allowed historians to gain a deeper understanding of the society and culture of the ancient Middle East. This knowledge is the foundation of the third phase approach of research on the historical Jesus. Since the 1960s, more and more scholars have become interested in the possibility of distilling historical truth from the New Testament texts. This is done not only through philological and literary work, but by analysing the biblical accounts in the light of the knowledge gained about the society in which Jesus lived and the gospels were written. An important feature of this third phase is the presence among its initiators of atheist and agnostic scholars, who in some cases are deconverted Christians.

How to address the issue

Confronting the works of scholars, past and present, who strongly question the reliability of the Gospel accounts can be no small challenge for believers. However, we have the tools to meet that challenge and turn it into an evangelistic opportunity.

1. Eyewitnesses and the real Jesus

The starting assumption we have referred to, namely the belief that the canonical Gospels do not represent historical accounts but theological reconstructions of the figure of Jesus, is by no means proven. The internal evidence seems to suggest quite the opposite. If one considers the presence of so many details that are not necessary to the narrative (the number of fish caught at the second miraculous catch, the young man covered by a sheet present at Jesus’ arrest, the fact that John arrived at the tomb before Peter, etc.), the stories that make the Gospels look bad, the stories that make the Gospels look bad, etc., the stories that make the Gospels look bad. ), to the stories that cast the disciples in a bad light, or to the declaration of intent that Luke offers at the beginning of his Gospel (…it seemed good to me too, after having thoroughly informed myself of everything from the beginning, to write about it in order…), it can be reasonably argued that the evangelists reported eyewitness accounts with the aim of presenting us with the real Jesus.

It is precisely the category of testimony that scholar Richard Bauckham suggests in his Jesus and the Eyewitnesses in order to properly understand the literary genre Gospels. Extremely subjective, but not unreliable.

On the other hand, the date of publication of the New Testament writings, which can be placed at the latest between 60 and 95 A.D., makes it rather difficult to argue that they contain myths and legends, since eyewitnesses of the narrated facts were still in circulation at that time.

2. Meet the Christ by researching the historical Jesus

Today, most students are convinced that the Bible is not a reliable text; to speak about Jesus from what the Gospels say often means clashing with this prejudice. In such a context, the search for the historical Jesus represents a meeting point between the believer and the sceptic. In other words, one can approach the New Testament texts as a sceptic and analyse them with the tools of modern historiography. One can try to understand who Jesus of Nazareth was, without first accepting the doctrine of the inspiration of the Bible, and meet the Christ.

There is no shortage of testimonies from ordinary people and scholars who, analysing the Gospels as non-believers, ended up recognising Jesus as their God and Lord, just as happened to the first sceptic, the disciple Thomas.

  1. Bauckham R., Gesù e i testimoni oculari, Ed. GBU, Chieti 2010 ↩︎
  2. Si vedano, ad esempio, i seguenti libri di autori che hanno raccontato la loro esperienza: Chi ha rimosso la pietra?, F. Morison, Più che un falegname, J. MacDowell, Il caso Gesù, L. Strobel ↩︎

Faith is harmful (?)

Tempo di lettura: 4 minuti
by Cristiano Meregaglia, GBU Staff worker

This article is a summary of a workshop that Cristiano himself offered to the students at our event Formazione GBU (ndr)

“Imagine there’s no heaven / It’s easy if you try / No hell below us / Above us only sky / Imagine all the people / Living for today… / Imagine there’s no countries / It isn’t hard to do / Nothing to kill or die for / And no religion too / Imagine all the people / Living life in peace…”

Lennon, John. Imagine

This is what John Lennon sang in 1971, hoping for a time when people could finally live just for today, without being oppressed by the thought of a heaven or hell awaiting them at the moment of death, and a world where there would be no nations and religions opposing one another, preventing peace that would otherwise be possible.

Of course, even more than 50 years later, these words and these hopes are still present and strong in the society we live in, suggesting that faith is not only rationally unsustainable but also morally harmful, and that, therefore, society would be much more functional if every religious root were to be uprooted from it. This idea has been explicitly supported by the main exponents of t

The “new” ateism

This idea has been explicitly supported by the main exponents of the so-called New Atheism movement, who, without mincing my words, have dedicated long pages to describing the great evils that religion has produced throughout history, from the Crusades to the Jihad, from religious wars to contemporary theocratic regimes, clearly highlighting how the solution for a better world seems to be precisely what the Beatles singer envisioned.

It is interesting to note, however, that although these authors are labeled as new atheists, the ideas they support are anything but new, as they are effectively derived from the reflections of past thinkers. Among these past thinkers, it is impossible to ignore Bertrand Russell, who, with his collection of essays compiled in the text Why I Am Not a Christian, represents, in fact, a normative reference for much of the literature produced within the New Atheism movement.

Religion: a disease to be eradicated

In one of those essays, titled “Has Religion Contributed to Civilization?”, Russell presents precisely those arguments that, decades later, Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Odifreddi, Augias, and other contemporary intellectuals continue to propose to argue for the damage religion has caused. Specifically, Russell argues that religion is “a kind of disease, born out of fear and a source of unspeakable suffering for humanity,”, his point of  view relating to both the intellectual and moral spheres. On the one hand, the philosopher claims that religion hinders free thought and rational inquiry; on the other, by imposing a morality considered absolute and anchored to archaic concepts, it also creates the conflicts that are at the root of human unhappiness. Thus, he concludes the aforementioned essay writing:

“With the progress of knowledge and technology, universal happiness can be achieved; but the main obstacle to using them for this purpose is the teaching of religion. Religion prevents our children from receiving a rational education; religion prevents us from removing the fundamental causes of wars; religion prevents us from teaching the ethics of scientific cooperation instead of the old, aberrant doctrines of guilt and punishment. Humanity may be on the threshold of a golden age; but to cross it, we must first slay the dragon guarding the door: this dragon is religion.”

Russel, B. “Perché non sono cristiano”, Longanesi & C., Milano, 1960, p.24

Now, as biting as these criticisms may be, it is helpful to point out that it is legitimate, and perhaps even necessary, to agree with some of the claims made in the essay. It is undeniable that many people, claiming to be Christians (or of other religions), have indeed committed reprehensible acts throughout history, often abusing their social position provided to them by religion; and it is equally understandable to agree with the insistence on the need to reject an uncritical faith (one that is not aware of what it believes and why it believes it).

That being said, it is also necessary to point out that such criticisms are, in fact, open to strong counterarguments, which can be articulated along three lines of response.

1. The preaching of Christ and its impact on society

First of all, it is easy to demonstrate how the true Christianity, as embodied and preached by Jesus Christ himself, is radically different from other religions and, in many cases, from how Christians have portrayed it. True Christianity, in fact, far from being a source of violence, has at its root the persuasion through inner contrition rather than external coercion through the use of force. It is of no coincidence, therefore, that when Jesus, just hours before his death sentence, was in Gethsemane and Peter tried to defend him with weapons from his enemies, not only did he order his disciple to put away his sword, but he also healed the servant of the high priest who had been injured by that sword (Mt 26:51-52; Lk 22:51).

Furthermore, it is easy to show that true Christianity is not only not a cause of harm to society but that society as a whole has benefited from the influence of Christianity, which has created hospitals, the Red Cross, orphanages, universities… to the point that an atheist journalist wrote in The Times that in Africa, the contribution of evangelism to the progress of society has far exceeded that provided by any other organization, governmental or otherwise (M. Parris, The Times, 27.12.2008).

2. A society that wants to get rid of God

Secondly, it can just as easily be shown that a society in which God is removed opens the door to any violation and abuse by the powerful, precisely because it removes the premise that one must be accountable for his own actions before a just God. The 20th century is full of such examples, from Stalin’s Russia to Mao’s China, to Pol Pot’s Cambodia. Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, in this regard, stated that “if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous Revolution that swallowed up 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to say: men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened” (A. Solzhenitsyn, Templeton Prize Address, 1983).

3. Flawed argument

Finally, it can be pointed out that the very principles by which religion is criticized today are Christian principles, principles that would not exist without the cultural revolution brought about by Jesus and the subsequent Christianity. The freedom, equality, progress, and peace that seem to be questioned in society by religion are, in fact, nothing more than the product of Christianity, and we are so immersed in them that they are like the air we breathe (cf. G. Scrivener, The Air We Breathe, Introduction).

True greatness!

Tempo di lettura: 3 minuti
by Sharon Fichera, student leader GBU Bologna

Hello everyone! My name is Sharon, I am 20 years old and Sicilian. I am also Bolognese by adoption, since I moved to the capital of tortellini to study Classical Literature. I love Jesus and I love talking about Him and, because of this, when I got to know the GBU, I fell in love with it and joined the group of students in Bologna.

This year I took part in the Formazione conference for Coordinators (GBU student leaders), which was held in Rimini at the beginning of October. In short, Formazione prepares young leaders to be a support to the GBU at local level. Needless to say, God worked in me more than I could have expected, which is why I want to tell you about my experience.

The Formazione programme consists of training in three different tracks:

Bible and Prayer

We deepened our knowledge of the Scriptures and our relationship with God through inductive Bible studies (SBI), prayer, praise and sermons. In this track we studied Mark chapters 8-10. What struck me most was seeing the continuous power play that is inherent in the human soul. Jesus was trying to teach the disciples that they should sacrifice themselves daily, love and serve others selflessly, stop trying to earn eternal life by their own efforts, and accept God’s love. Instead, they behaved arrogantly, did not understand the teachings of Jesus and believed they were superior to others, as well as competing among themselves as to who was the greatest. Jesus tried to teach them what true greatness was, but they (and often we) had hard hearts.

Coordinators

This track was designed to teach us who a coordinator should be and what he or she should do to make the right contribution to the local GBU and the mission in the university. It was also good to focus on our own potential as well as the potential of our GBU groups. What impressed me most was learning what it means to be mature coordinators. The definition we gave of spiritual maturity is ‘Constant, consistent and conscious growth in Christ’. To walk in this growth it is necessary to die to oneself, accept suffering, embrace sacrifice and the cross, knowing that all this is done for a greater joy and glory, namely the proclamation of the gospel and the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

Evangelism

With this track we focused on sharing Jesus from student to student, both individually and as a local group. I really enjoyed a seminar entitled ‘Damaging Faith (?)’, in which we read some of the criticisms made of Christianity throughout History and Philosophy. I found it useful and inspiring to be given tools to counter these criticisms. Furthermore, it was very interesting to note that many people are not indignant or angry because of God, but because of what the Church has done in the name of God. This challenged me to be a good example to those around me and to honour Christ in everything I do.

But on a practical level, what has this training done?

Personally, the training encouraged and challenged me to be aware of my role as coordinator, to serve others, to sacrifice myself for Christ, to live a life of prayer, to seek the face of God, and to spread the gospel without shame. I am sure that all of us there received a great boost to work in our GBUs, for our GBUs and with our GBUs, to share Jesus from student to student.

At this point only one question remains, implicitly, to be answered: ‘What is true greatness?’  

To find out, we need only look to Jesus, the greatest King who trod the earth, the servant who washed the feet of his disciples.

un-SATISFIED

Tempo di lettura: 3 minuti

Emanuele Berti tells us about his experience with the “Mission Week” that the GBU Florence group organized from March 11th to the 14th.

PREPARATION

Preparing for the week, for me, was a process that was as challenging as it was formative. It began several months ago and has proved to be an ongoing challenge. The choice of the theme and its development were particularly complex. Each time I found myself doubting the outcome, and I had difficulty figuring out what was an appropriate approach to engage students. Initially, I explored concepts such as victory and defeat, and the meaning of life, focusing on the reality of university students.

Later, under the Lord’s guidance, I oriented the theme toward dissatisfaction. In collaboration with other coordinators and staff, we looked for ways to address this topic with students. However, we opted for a direct approach with students through questions, which we often use in the GBU to initiate discussion. We also used a poster board, which summarized the concept of dissatisfaction through two key phrases: 

  1. “Human beings are often dissatisfied not because they want too much, but rather because they want too little.” By C.S. Lewis
  2. “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will thirst no more.” John 4:14

I have realized in this preparation how constantly revisiting and reworking ideas is a challenging and tiring process, but I have also realized how essential and necessary it is; not only in preparing for an evangelistic week!

THE WORK IS IN YOUR HANDS

We planned the evangelistic days with personal prayer during the mornings, and then devoting the afternoons to evangelism and interaction with the students. On the first day, we gathered for an analysis and study of the Gospel, exploring its meaning and how to convey it to the students. The enthusiasm and joy I felt during the first day of preparation was so intense that the next day I found myself in bed with fever, nausea and sore throat! I spent two days in bed.

Initially, I was sorry that I could not attend, but then I felt great joy in knowing that others were at the university, sharing the Word of Jesus with students. I realized that the Word and the Gospel are free, not imprisoned, and continue to spread, despite our limitations.

WE ARE STRONG ONLY IN THE LORD

On the last day, after much prayer, I was able to find the strength to get out of bed and reach the university, joining the others. Although I was still sick, voiceless, with some fever and tiredness, I experienced how the Lord works in our very weakness. The warmth of the sunshine and the encouraging conversations lifted my spirits. To attract people, we had decided to use a little door and a ball. At first, they did not arouse much interest, but once we figured out how to make use of them, the Lord acted in an extraordinary way. We proposed a game in which, in exchange for a prize (a candy), people had to answer a question. In addition to the main poster board, we displayed another one with the pattern of the two ways of living, represented by six pictures illustrating the gospel. It was surprising to note that almost all the people, at least a dozen, understood the meaning of the gospel on their own after I asked them to try to understand what the pictures meant. It was a real miracle, and some people even agreed to come to the Mark Drama.

SATISFIED

These days have made me realize even more that only the Lord Jesus can truly satisfy. We can find many religions, ideas and sources of entertainment, but only Jesus can reconcile us with God. He is the only righteous one, the only sinless one, the only one who can redeem us and give us eternal satisfaction, a satisfaction that knows no end. He is the water that quenches our thirst — forever! Through His mercy, God welcomes every student, whether they have been a lifelong blasphemer, an arrogant person or an atheist. If they repent and believe in Jesus, they can be reconciled and God awaits them with open arms, rejoicing for the lost sheep who has been found, for the one who had died and has come back to life.

Emanuele Berti, GBU Florence student

And in the beginning God created a perfect plan for us today

Tempo di lettura: 2 minuti

by Simona Squitieri, GBU Parma

In the beginning God created. If I had to sum up this GBU training weekend (Formazione), it would be like this. 

But let’s start from the beginning. About sixty people from Trentino to Sicily, after overcoming long journeys, trains, buses, cars, arrived in Umbria, in a little house with a view of Lake Trasimeno, to participate in GBU Coordinator Training 2023. 

In the beginning

As the acronym GBU (University Bible Groups) suggests, we looked to the Bible again this year to address the challenges we should face. Organizational challenges, practical and theoretical, intellectual and social challenges, for which we prepared ourselves by looking at, interpreting and applying the first three chapters of God’s Word. Starting, therefore, right “from the beginning”!

Moments of praise to the Lord and prayer refreshed and accompanied us during the intense daily program of seminars, reading and study of the Word. The Staff worked hard to provide us with the tools to better serve the students of our local groups, but especially the yet unreached students within our universities. Through Bible studies, then, we noticed how in the beginning God had thought of everything, neglecting no detail, planning and arranging everything perfectly, including us, descendants of Adam and princesses from the beginning. 

God created

These two words highlight the relationship that we are called to have with God, even before we make any commitment to Him and to others: the relationship of Creator and creature. It is essential to recognize God the Lord as the creator of the universe and of our lives; and that before everything was, He already was. 

But the words “God created” also highlight God’s creativity. Everything we study, from physics to art, from literature to medicine, have the same creative origin here in these two little words.

After creating, in the beginning all things, light, waters, bright stars, animals and plants, after the creation of man in his image, God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

A perfect plan for us today

So, was I able to understand what place I have in all this? In all this “good”? Coordinators from all over Italy, did we understand what place we have, together with the students and our local groups?

Adam and Eve lived in God’s presence and had a purpose, stolen and ruined by sin.

But in the beginning God created a perfect plan for us today: to save us through his son Jesus and ask us to share with others this Great Creator, who wants to come back to reconcile with us through Jesus. To share him from student to student. 

Ready, set, go!

Delegazione italiana alla World Assembly

168 nations, one people

Tempo di lettura: 4 minuti

by Marco Piovesan, GBU student

“… once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God” (1 Peter 2:10a)

Would you have ever imagined that 168 different cultures could coexist in one kingdom? Well, that is how it works in God’s kingdom. Yes, sometimes we think back to the fact that in Christ we have been called from every people and nation, but often we cannot really conceive the magnitude of this reality. The IFES World Assembly is, on the other hand, a way in which we can touch upon the authentic meaning of being one people, members of the one body of Christ.

The World Assembly is an event held every four years with the goal of bringing together delegates from all national movements that testify to Christ in the university as a ministry (e.g., GBU in Italy) to make decisions for global fellowship. The bureaucratic aspect, however, is little more than a pretext for experiencing a week of sharing and edification among brothers and sisters who share the same mission.

This year the date was set for early August in Jakarta, Indonesia. Participating in this event as a GBU student was something God used in an incredible way. One article could never contain all the spiritual richness that God was able to provide me, however, I cannot help but share some basic teachings from World Assembly.

We are not alone in our zeal 

Among GBU students, I think several times we have faced the immense mission of sharing Jesus to the students at our universities, but we have also been discouraged from seeing something beyond our reach. In fact it is beyond our human reach. In light of this discouragement, after the initial enthusiasm in which we are full of ideas and initiatives, we find a balance in which to settle in as we go forward.

From here, we get to know other students and see the zeal for God with which they are filled with, has completely changed my way of seeing these difficulties. Yes, they too see this mission as something vast, but they have God at the center of their hearts, to the point that they think of every second as an opportunity to talk about the gospel.

This of course often requires them to commit their evenings to events, Bible studies, organizational meetings and face-to-face meetings, but the desire to see Christ glorified outweighs the personal desire to have time for themselves. In short, I saw in these students the full realization that God is worth sacrificing for and that the true way to reason, is to reason with an eternal perspective

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

We are not alone in serving

One struggle I have experienced as a student over the past two years is wanting to organize some events at the university, but always finding too few people in the GBU group to make it happen.

At the World Assembly one evening I shared this struggle with the people I was sitting with at the table, and the response I received was immediately, “Invite us, we can come as help from abroad to participate and organize a week of events.” I was taken aback by the simplicity of this phrase, but it made me realize that being one flesh in Christ does not just mean greeting each other and telling each other good experiences once every four years: we can use this immense privilege to work closely together, meet each other’s needs, and toil together to see God’s kingdom advance.

At this point, I feel entrusted with the responsibility to make appropriate use of such a precious gift of having true co-workers in Christ with the same perspective.

We are not alone in our sufferings

No doubt different challenges are being faced in every corner of the earth: World Assembly was inevitably an opportunity to hear stories of struggles and suffering specific to different nations. We discussed issues of social justice, mental health, and stress created by the university setting.

However, I think what should cause us to reflect the most is the persecution (not just psychological) that so many Christians are subjected to. To find myself eating at the table with believers who literally every day expose their lives to death for the sake of Christ has raised many questions in me. The only way they can live is by embodying the gospel in their lives by their behavior to the point that this can trigger in people around them a desire to ask questions about the Christian faith

I wonder if, in the Italian context (in which we are far from having to risk our lives) I have the same desire to impersonate Christ in every area of my life. I wonder if I really am willing to make the same sacrifice for God that these brothers are exposed to everyday. I wonder if for me, as for them, “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). 

There is, however, something extremely incredible about these examples: Christ is so precious that it is worth giving our very lives to stay together with Him.

We are not alone because God is with us

Admittedly, World Assembly was not only rich in all these broad teachings, but it was also an opportunity to reflect from a personal point of view. Speaking of which, there is one concept that was reiterated so many times and which I cannot do without anymore: becoming aware of God’s presence in our lives.

So many times in the Bible God’s promise of “I will be with you” appears, but we often fail to consider this in our daily lives. I had a chance to talk with several people who have served in IFES for decades, and one thing each of them insisted on after so many years of ministry is that a personal relationship with God is the basis of everything we do. We cannot think of serving God without being in fellowship with Him. We need to seek Him and His presence: being aware that He is with us can radically transform the way we live for Him.

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

The Christian life and even Christian service is a continuous walking side by side with God.

Our Inheritance

Tempo di lettura: 3 minuti

How easy it is to lose or squander an inheritance. If you type the words “squandered inheritance” into Google a series of stories come up, one sadder than another:

“Woman inherits a fortune, squanders it all and ends up living on the street.”

“My brother squandered my mother’s money and now he won’t even contribute to the funeral expenses.”

“She spent 92,000 euros a month. The squandered inheritance of Lisa Marie Presley – daughter of Elvis.”

This year at the Festa GBU we thought about the legacy of the disciple of Christ, of what awaits the believer in the future. For those who live by faith in Christ today, the best is to come. It is not here in the present, it is in the future; and the disciple simply has to look up to contemplate it. 

We studied 3 passages to meditate on this secure future: 1 Peter 1:3-5, Hebrews 12:1-3 and 2 Timothy 4:1-5.

The characteristics of this inheritance

Peter urged us to rejoice in the fact that we are a guarded people for a guarded inheritance, all because of the Lord’s great mercy. Three words are used to describe this inheritance: incorruptible, spotless and unchangeable.

Incorruptible – Isaiah describes our existence as covered by a veil – a veil that covers the face of all peoples (Isaiah 25:6). Death. Any organism living in this world today is subject to the corruption of death that consumes and defiles everything. Except the believer’s inheritance. It is incorruptible!

Spotless – blemishes, impurity, darkness. It is perfect in every sense; it is the definition of beauty and can never be infected by our sin. It is spotless.

Unalterable – it is protected from death, and protected from wickedness and is also protected from time. It is an inheritance that does not grow old. The woodworm, the moth cannot destroy it. The rust, the sun will have no effect on it.

An inheritance guarded in heaven by the Lord for a people guarded by the power of God – the power that created the sun, the stars, the black holes, the Himalayas, the Mariana Trench. The power that raised Jesus from the dead! That same power is functioning as a shield around the heirs to bring them to the end of their journey. Let us celebrate the certainty of our inheritance!

The gaze fixed on the champion!

Instead, the author of the letter to the Hebrews explains that God’s children are a people who persevere to the end by fixing their gaze on Jesus. They run with perseverance, convinced of the possibility of finishing the race, throwing off every distraction and destroying every sin that would like to deceive the heir. They persevere with their eyes on Christ, the model, the means and the medal of faith.

The model, the example of how to run with perseverance. Look at his courage: he did not give up. Observe his conviction, focused on the goal. Reflect on his submission to the Father’s will, and note the chronology of faith: suffering now, joy in the future, cross first, crown later.

The means, because of his running, because of his perseverance, the believer today can run in the race of faith, confident that the road is no longer blocked by his sin. He can go all the way to the presence of the Father, thanks to Jesus!

The medal is what awaits the athlete of faith at the end of his run. Jesus himself is the prize of faith; he is the inheritance. The believer does not run to win a gold medal, or a yellow shirt, or the shield, or the world cup. The believer will receive at the end of this race, a much, much more precious thing-Jesus himself, incorruptible, spotless and unchangeable! We win him and he wins us!

Passing the baton

Paul with his last words implores his son in the faith, Timothy, to pass on the message of inheritance to the next generation. The heir is sure of his inheritance, sure that he will make it to the end of the race through God’s power and through his perseverance, is called to preach the word of inheritance to his and the next generation. And he is called to do so with urgency, with patience and with suffering.

Discouragements, disappointments, frustrations, obstacles, attacks and opposition are part of the believer’s life. Shame in the present, glory in the future. Cross today, crown on that day. Suffering now, yet our inheritance is incorruptible, unblemished and unalterable at Christ’s return. This is the living hope of Christ’s disciple! God will bring us through faith to that day and so let us run with perseverance, eyes fixed on the prize, on Jesus, proclaiming the Word to all.

,

Faithfully fulfill your service

Tempo di lettura: 3 minuti

By Giovanni Donato, Staff GBU Siena

A new academic year has begun and, like every year, the GBU has organized  Formazione (Student Leaders Training Conference) –  which is attended by all those who will be student leaders for GBU. This year, I was asked to preach from the book of 2 Timothy, which I was honored and pleased to do!

2 Timothy is probably one of the most suitable texts for such a retreat, the purpose of which is to exhort, train, and challenge the GBU coordinators (student leaders). I say this because that is precisely what Paul wishes to do with Timothy in writing of this letter, and every exhortation, every rebuke, every challenge that Paul issues to the young leader Timothy is easily applicable to young student leaders who are about to begin a new academic year with enthusiasm, but not without concerns.

In our four days together we were able to consider and meditate on the entire letter, however below I would just like to highlight two main lessons from 2 Timothy:

The call to Christian leadership is a call to suffering

Several times in the four chapters that make up 2 Timothy, Paul mentions the word suffering; he encourages the young leader to be ready to suffer for the sake of the gospel (1:8) and to patiently endure the suffering he will encounter in ministry (2:3, 4:5). Paul reminds Timothy that he too is suffering unashamedly for the sake of the gospel (1:12, 2:9), that he is also patiently enduring suffering for the sake of the elect (2:10), that his entire ministry has been marked by suffering (3:11); he informs him of the fact that he has been abandoned by all those who had been close to him up to that point (1:15, 4:9-10, 4:16) and how he had been violently attacked by someone whom he had until recently considered his friend (4:14-15). He makes it clear to Timothy that all who choose to be serious about God (“living piously”) will necessarily face persecution (3:12). Wow, put like that the call to leadership does not sound very inviting… However, Paul in this letter is not only saying that the call to leadership is only a call to suffering (thank God!), but it is also a glorious call!

The call to Christian leadership is a glorious call

In his letter, Paul repeatedly emphasizes the importance, honor, and even beauty of serving God. He reminds Timothy that the holy call to serve the King of kings is not received because of good conduct, but solely because of the glorious grace of God (1:9) that has been manifested to the world through the appearance of our Savior Jesus Christ (1:10). He explains to him that such a glorious calling is worth suffering (1:12) and that God is the one who will uphold us by his power (1:8) and guard us carefully until the day when we can lay down our arms (1:12). He exhorts young Timothy to invest time and energy into people who would one day take his place so that the flame of the gospel could continue to stay burning and be passed on throughout the unfolding of history (2:2); he urges him to watch over, care for and protect the body of Christ (2:14, 3:1-9), watching over it with love, humility, patience and consistency (2:15-16, 2:22-25). He called on him to preach God’s inspired Word faithfully and passionately (4:2), to use the gifts God had given him (1:6), and to faithfully fulfill the service the Lord had entrusted to him (4:5) because at the end of this great adventure, entry into God’s heavenly kingdom (4:18a) and the crown of righteousness that the Lord, the righteous judge, would award to all those who joyfully awaited Jesus’ return (4:8)

Through the study of this letter we were able to do what Paul desired to do with Timothy through the writing of this letter: to exhort young Christian leaders to faithfully serve the Lord, not to be surprised or upset when they encounter suffering in their journey, and to always remember that the holy call to serve King Jesus is a glorious call that has been given to us by the grace of God and for which it is worth even suffering and dying, waiting for the day when we will meet him in glory.

Happy New Year and happy service to all GBU coordinators and to all those in the body of Christ who hold leadership and responsibility!

,

A JOY THAT SPRINGS FORTH EVEN IN SUFFERING

Tempo di lettura: 2 minuti
Elena Montaldo, coordinator of GBU Torino 

As someone who studies Primary Education (ed: education = training), the word “training,” has a special value.

Its meaning is not summed up in the systematic transmission of knowledge, but indicates a desire to render someone competent. In other words, they are able to rework and apply that same knowledge that they learnt in the context of reality. This is possible only if there is a social network that provides those being trained, stimuli to which they can respond.

Student Leaders Training

This year’s Student Leaders Training meant all of the above to me and even more. It was  more than a context where students from all over Italy gathered for three days in Florence to listen to teaching, study the Bible together and participate in various  seminars. Here I even had the opportunity to lead an inductive Bible study, a prayer meeting, as well as planninng events and meetings for the new GBU students and to share GBU with university students in Florence itself.   

For the first time as a coordinator, after years of participation in the GBU, I felt that I was an irreplaceable part of a project that has Love as its engine and People’s Lives as its goal.

The theme

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul speaks as a father who, shortly before his death, addresses his son. The very one who had been the author of massacres, violence and persecution of Christians, after meeting Jesus, finds himself writing in prison, abandoned by all and condemned to death because of his faith in Him. 

An absurd decision in the eyes of many, but not to his own who saw joy flowing from his suffering. With his life, until his last breath, Paul had in fact led many souls to receive the salvation that comes from faith in the One who first gave His life and rose again to give them Life forever.

Reading and studying his words together with other students who, like me, received that same news and chose to believe and live for this same reality – I felt like the recipient,  together with Timothy, of that same letter. 

Let’s start again

During our Student Leaders Training we coordinators were confronted with an example of faith that laid bare our fears, insecurities and worries that anyone, in living to the fullest an ideal that goes against the grain, faces sooner or later, and then removed them. Together we understood the deep meaning of the ministry we believe has been entrusted to each of us Christian students within the GBU.

I realized how much courage and strength it can take to consistently maintain this life choice. At the same time, I realized even more deeply how worthwhile it is to live it out fully so that more and more people will know the Love and grace that the God of the Bible has shown, through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus, in order to have a personal relationship with each of them.

Now we are ready to begin again, each where he or she lives in Italy. This time, however, with the knowledge that everything we do in our own small way has a common goal and a joy that springs even in suffering.

,

Far From Home

Tempo di lettura: 2 minuti

There aren’t many contexts like university, at least spiritually.  Every day we’re assaulted by the assumption that every “good”, even the best “goods”, can be reached if we humans just put in enough effort.  In today’s university departments, there’s little room for the spiritual: at most, it gets relegated strictly to the private, personal realm that has little or nothing to do with civic life or academic progress.  In our lecture halls, therefore, the socio-physical world and the spiritual world are completely separate, removed from one another.

 For both the aggressive atheist and the typical disinterested uni student, someone who wants to entrust themselves completely to Jesus seems strange.  Maybe too strange – crazy, even.  Academically, faith is often seen as weakness, a shortcoming, something that gets in the way of knowledge, that holds humanity back from reaching our true potential.  How then can someone belong to Jesus and at the same time swim in these cultural waters?  It’s easy for a believing student to feel like a fish out of water, to feel truly far from home.

But this experience isn’t at all unique to the modern university

From the very beginning of Christianity, believers have been considered “outsiders” by their society – from the very beginning it was clear to the world that there was something different about these “Christians”, that their allegiance wasn’t the same as those around them, the majority of their society.  For this reason in the early years, the church suffered greatly at the hands of those around them.  The problem was so serious, that the apostle Peter wrote a letter to the first generation of believers – calling them “sojourners and exiles” on this earth – encouraging them to not give up, but to endure, to keep going, even to rejoice in the midst of their sufferings, because of the great blessing that they had received from God.  This letter will be our launching point for the long-awaited FESTA GBU!

What does it mean, though, to be a sojourner and an exile?

What does that imply for today, to be far from home?  This will be the main theme for this year.  We’ll have two very special guests joining us: Stefano Mariotti, the pastor of the Chiesa la Piazza in Budrio (BO), who will share with us some reflections from 1 Peter on this theme.  We will also have with us Lindsay Brown, former General Secretary of IFES, the global movement that includes the GBU.  Linsdau will be sharing some of the lessons he has learnt from his over 40 years of experience in student ministry.

 But wait, there’s more!  The FESTA GBU also represents the primary moment of the year when students from all of Italy can gather together IN PERSON for 4 days of workshops, prayer and praise to the Lord, music, sport and plenty of time face to face – what a joy that we’ve been missing for nearly 3 years!  It’ll be unforgettable, and absolutely unmissable.  

Be there!

Simon Cowell
(Staff GBU Bari)

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