Written by Levi and Sean
Agape Ireland staff members
Levi and Sean, staff members with Agape Ireland, stopped and prayed that the Holy Spirit would send them to the right student. Seeing a young man sitting alone on a bench overlooking the sports pitches of Trinity College’s Dublin campus, they approached him. His name was James, from County Cavan in Ireland, and he was very happy to chat with them.
As they went through a spiritual interest survey, James explained that family was very important to him. He came from a Christian family and they went to church every Sunday up until the pandemic. To sum up his understanding of the Christian message he said, “Do right by God and others.” James explained that following the 10 Commandments was how to “do right by God” but that he could never follow them perfectly.
One question on the survey was about Jesus’ statement in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through Me.” James was stunned by this. He responded:
Did Jesus really say that? Thanks for telling me… I never heard that before.
Sean briefly explained a bit more about the statement. “We often think that we get to have a relationship with God by doing good works, like following the 10 commandments to the best of our ability. Jesus is saying here that our relationship with God is not based on our good works but by believing in Him.”
James had never heard about the need to believe in Jesus. He said that when he prays for his friends and family he just prays to God and hopes that God listens. This gave Levi and Sean a great opportunity to share that Jesus is God incarnate, “God with skin on.” Sean added that we can know what God is like by getting to know the person of Jesus Christ.
At the end of the conversation Levi and Sean were able to give James a booklet about the gospel called “Knowing God Personally.” Sean also gave James his phone number in case he wants to reach out for another chat. James seemed to be processing through a lot of thoughts, but his curiosity and excitement to learn more about Jesus were evident.
We trust that God is at work in James’ heart and mind as a result of this conversation. And we pray that the Holy Spirit will use conversations like this to stir up belief in Christ in the hearts of students all across Ireland.
