I was seventeen when I first stepped into the church building to join the midweek youth gathering we call PAW University. In that same year, I heard countless foundational truths weekly that have been essential in forming the convictions that I have now. I didn’t see then how the regular gathering worked in my heart, but now I understand that at every preaching of His Word, God was slowly conforming my former views to His Truth. It was a gradual yet consistent transformation that included persecution from family members, awkward gaps between long-time friends, and lots of sorrow out of sin struggles. It was all grace that brought me to endure and to keep enduring.
Last night, we celebrated nineteen years of the ministry’s existence. It was also the tenth anniversary that I have come to witness. For a moment, I had to ponder upon how long it has been since the Lord led me to this ministry. I thought of all the Wednesdays that I came stressed from school, celebrated academic victories, mourned losses, passed interviews, received my first paycheck and so many more milestones. For a decade, the Lord graciously orchestrated my life to be entangled in a place that now has become a home.
The celebration yesterday was unlike all the past anniversaries I have attended. I'm not saying this because we had a full house, an eventful program, or a fancy food buffet. It was a rather intimate fellowship. Some regular attendees were stuck in the Valentine traffic or had prior commitments and therefore came late or didn't come at all. The tech team had noticeable difficulties and our anniversary snacks are simple (yet tasty!) home-cooked hotdog sandwiches.
While there could be a great temptation to be overly concerned about the decoration, attendance, or program flow (it was a special day, after all), I thank the Lord that, by His grace, we have learned to let go of those burdens. The simplicity of the night and even the imperfection that came with it, made it stand out among all the past celebrations only because it made us all the more centered on the reason why we gather: the gospel of Jesus Christ being proclaimed through the faithful preaching of His Word.
The passage of the night was about the weight that Christ had to carry through the cross for the ransom of the very people who wanted Him to be crucified and by extension, us who are sinners against a Holy God. Pastor Japhet detailed the mocking and insulting in addition to the physical pain that Jesus had to endure but he then emphasized that the most painful experience Christ had to go through was not the bodily suffering but being forsaken by the Father. The judgment due to us was poured out to His Son. Christ, Who was united with the Father all His life, suffered abandonment on our behalf. "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). It is through His death that there is life eternal awaiting those who come to Him, for us who hope in Him.
To proclaim this truth is the ultimate “why” that PAW University exists. Apart from Christ, what we would have here is an organization founded on superficial companionships, a structure built on sinking sand that could not stand through time. It is only through the wondrous message of the cross that this community becomes a family, a house built on a solid rock - timeless and eternal.
This is the gospel that saved me ten years ago and the same gospel that continues to redeem more people up to this day. The Lord has been immensely merciful, and I look forward to walking with more young people whom the Lord will call to Himself, mold through His Word, and cause to endure with the rest of the community for the praise of His Name.
Member of MCF-Cebu
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