By Jabon Butler, Director of Discipleship & Community Life
Each year at Grace College, we choose a campus theme to center our learning on God’s Word in chapel, the classroom, student activities, and beyond. This year we will be studying the book of Luke as we focus on the theme “Free.”
Why should college students care about being free?
We live in a world today where many people feel “bound” and “imprisoned” in life circumstances, a mental or physical illness, or the injustice of our world. The college student lives in a culture that places immense pressure on them to perform, achieve, and find themselves, promising that this is the way to true freedom and abundant living. The reality is that these things never deliver on what they promised, but only continue to constrain and bring disappointment.
Scripture also paints a solemn picture of our situation: we are imprisoned by sin and are sentenced to death. Romans 3:23 says that everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Romans 6:23 likewise states that the consequence of sin is death. We are slaves to sin who, on our own, cannot do anything about our situation. More than any other type of bondage, we are sinners in need of saving.
It is into this “mess” that God sent His Son, Jesus. In an over-abundance of love and obedience to the Father’s will, Jesus entered into the darkness of our world in order to meet us exactly where we are and to free us, most importantly, from spiritual bondage. Luke begins with a triumphal record of Jesus arriving on the scene, sent on a rescue mission to save sinners like you and me.
How do you find true freedom?
Our theme verse, Luke 19:10 focuses on this rescue mission of Jesus: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Let’s consider this verse in three parts.
First, the Son of Man came…
The most radical and beautiful truth of the gospel is that God did not remain distant. Through Christ, He drew near to us. The title “Son of Man” captures the breathtaking reality of the incarnation — Jesus came in the form of man to reconcile us to God. He fulfilled the ancient and long awaited promises of a coming Messiah and King who would usher in a kingdom that would never end, defeating the powers of sin, death, and evil on our behalf.
Second, the Son of Man came to seek and to save…
Jesus did not come to start a political dynasty or to impress the elite. He came to save our souls. The gospel of Luke introduces Jesus as the One who brings good news to the poor, freedom to the captives and the oppressed, and sight to the blind. Jesus came not for the prideful, the rich, and the healthy, but for those who deeply understand their sin-sickness and their desperate need for a Savior — the humble, the poor, the needy, and the sick. Through His life and work, Jesus gives us the freedom not to do whatever we want, but to be the person God created us to be and receive not only forgiveness for our sins but freedom from evil, sin, and temptation.
Last, the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
We have all experienced the feeling of being “lost.” In one way or another, we can relate to the prodigal son who left the Father to seek out something better for ourselves. However, we can thank God that the story of Luke (and the entire Word of God) is a story of a Father who leaves the ninety nine to find the one. God, in His rich kindness and mercy, sent Christ to seek us out, find us, and save us while we were still in darkness. God does not wait for us to clean ourselves up or find our own way home; He enters into our pain and chaos to restore us to fellowship with Himself and with one another.
Throughout the gospel of Luke, we will see Christ healing the sick, making the lame walk and the blind to see, and even raising people from the dead. But we will also see that Jesus calls out an individual’s faith as the reason that He healed them. The word faith is used 12 times in the book of Luke. The gospel is good news for those who have faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. These are the people whose sins are truly forgiven, are reunited with God and with others, and who experience true freedom.
True freedom comes from acknowledging who we are apart from Christ, repenting of our sin and evil ways, and trusting in Christ as the way to true freedom and eternal life.
What practical, daily difference does freedom make for college students?
And the response to receiving the freedom that is available in Christ? Over and over again, the people in Luke who encounter the person and work of Jesus Christ respond with joy. This year, students will be encouraged to rejoice with the one who was lost and is now found, and we should all rejoice when we see Christ still at work in our lives — continuing to free us from sin and transform us into His image.
