Soft-Spoken, But Still Heard

He said, “On the ‘Meet the Prof’ website that you have linked on the course syllabus, I read your entry entitled The Wisdom of God or Man?  I wonder why you, as a genetics course instructor, profess to being a Christian and believe in creation?”  

I have characteristically not been outspoken about my faith, but I’ve found that there are little things that “soft-spoken” people like myself can do that can bear witness of Jesus to my students. 

This is of particular encouragement to me, considering my reserved nature.

I had hoped the link to ‘Meet the Prof’ that I put in the syllabus would catch the eye of a few students. But for this moment, I knew that getting into a science and theology debate about creation with him right before class would likely yield little fruit.

My immediate, short answer was that I had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and that it is simply faith and an inner acknowledgment of His existence that is the key. He would need to have a similar experience to understand what I believe. Hopefully, that left him wanting to know more – and we could discuss it at another time.

[Editor’s note: ‘Meet the Prof’ is a free Faculty Commons website where hundreds of Christian professors have shared info about their personal background, family, interests, and the story of their faith journey. Professors can put a link to their personal “Meet the Prof” website on their academic website, course syllabi, or email signature to allow interested students and colleagues to uncover their hope in Christ. Here’s a link.]

Occasionally, students have found little clues that told them a lot about my faith in Christ, such as with ‘Meet the Prof.’ 

There was also a time when a student commented on the “Jesus” license plate I had on the front bumper of my car. It was surprising to me that this small object of my faith that I had forgotten about was noticed by this student. 

As I have progressed in my walk with Jesus, the Holy Spirit has helped me become bolder in sharing my faith. In Acts 4:31, we see this in the disciples after they had undergone persecution: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.”

But boldness should not be mistaken for bowling people over. Only with God’s help can I share my faith with boldness, yet with gentleness and humility.

If I have a willing heart and an openness to his Spirit, God can use the marks of my faith like weblinks, license plates, and office decorations to influence the lives of those to whom He connects my path. But He can also lead me to speak up boldly in certain situations. 

This makes following Christ in a secular university an exciting adventure.

During these spiritually challenging times on our campuses, the Lord gives us His word of encouragement and strength in Deuteronomy 31:6 that says: “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee”