7/18 Reflections on the Most Powerful Day of My Life

John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Why does the God of all creation never cease to be amazing? Despite the knowledge that he who can transform an entire pagan Roman Empire to a Christian empire, can resurrect a nation thousands of years after it was destroyed, and can completely touch and change every single life, can do all things, the sight of every precious person that returns to the Lord still never ceases to be absolutely incredible. Yes, I previously talked about what a success our trip would be if just one “sheep” returned to its shepherd, but what happens if the impossible occurs and numerous children of God return to Him. I think I may have seen the most touching sight of my life on Saturday. The VGM program works by opening a 4 day bilingual camp from Tuesday to Friday, with an invitation for the students to return Saturday to see us possibly for the last time. The goal is the show God’s love throughout the week mostly through actions and explicitly share the gospel on Saturday. Entering into the week, I knew it would take a miracle for just one life to be transformed by God. Let me tell you, by the end of the week, I saw somewhere between 15 to 25 miracles. The focal point of the Saturday program was the altar call. As the students closed their eyes, Martin (one of my teaching partners for the week) and I quietly moved to the back of the room to pray. I don’t think I’ve ever prayed so hard in my life. We just stood there, praying our hearts out for our students. I knew God’s presence was definitely in that room on Saturday. One of the Taiwanese co-workers doing the altar call spoke so inspirationally and powerfully that only God could provide such words with such conviction. He made four calls, each more powerful than the one prior to it. Slowly I saw more and more students raise their hands. People, co-workers and students alike, were crying everywhere. Martin and I just stood there, waiting, watching one specific student. We both saw the changes God made in her life the short amount of time we were there, but we prayed and prayed that she would accept Christ. Near the end, she did. I almost screamed and yelled “Thank you God!” when I saw her hand rise. When everything was said and done, the village we served at gained several new Christians, and the kingdom of God just got a little bigger. This girl I was talking about was extremely reluctant to come on the first day. She protested lunch prayer and declared herself an adamant believer in the family idol worship. More importantly, she broke down and turned her life over to Jesus on the last day. She saw what each and every one of us STM or Taiwan co-worker had and desired the same. I saw another camp member, a middle school boy, completely changed. He also entered as a firm believer in idol worship. Yet, with the transforming power of Jesus Christ, he left as a young Christian. I can say that he was the last member of my group that I’d expect to receive Christ. God truly is the same God who changed Emperor Constantine, post WWII leaders, and each and every Christian. As the team left, the words of Jesus ran through my mind, "It is finished." Yet, the work of the Lord is never finished until the next coming of Jesus Christ. As I return to the US, everything will be different, but the stakes still are the same: eternity in heaven or hell. I have the knowledge of the saving gospel, and share it I must, so when Jesus returns, I can confidently say with Him, "It is finished."