Romans 5:8
Good News Translation
8 But God has shown us how much he loves us—it was
while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!
It was my second year in college. The college bulletin
listed 10 actions that were grounds for expulsion. I had offended in 9 of them.
I wished I could have claimed all 10. I had a rebellious attitude, and the
disciplinary committee met and suspended me for 6 weeks. They were kind to me.
I deserved outright expulsion.
When I got home my parents labored with me. They were very
persuasive about how my actions would affect my life in the long run. They also
emphasized how my current course of action was threatening my eternal
salvation. They encouraged me to go back to the college town and see how much I
could do to clear up my record. Their logic and reasoning made sense to me.
First, I shelved the rebellious attitude; then I went back the 1,500 miles and
cleared up as much as I could.
The president of the college found out that I was back in
town and what I was doing. I told him I had had a change of attitude and what I
was doing to try and rectify things. He complimented me. He then told me that I
was not speak to any of the students. Furthermore, he was not willing to ask
the faculty to reinstate me into the college He didn’t mention the six-week
suspension: he regarded me as having been expelled. He knew he couldn’t stop me
from speaking to the students because my brother was at the school. I had not
mentioned the six-week limit, but he was letting me know I wasn’t welcome
there.
God, on the other hand, bore all my punishments before I
committed the sins that demanded punishment. He welcomed me into his kingdom
before I was born.
That president may have been frustrated some years later
when I returned to the college as a professor. By that time, he was no longer
the president, and they had eagerly sought my services. When I was introduced
to the students at a college assembly, I mentioned to the whole group that the
last time I had been formally connected with the college I had been expelled
from there. As far as I could tell, it only improved the way the students accepted
me.
Thank You, Lord, for loving me—and my readers while we were still sinners.
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