what does it mean to be a witness?
as a student here at UCSD?
i'm slowly learning
but i'm guessing it goes a little something like this:
registering for classes this quarter was a blessing in disguise. i found that all my major AND respective minor classes were full by the time i was to enroll. and so i opted to take four classes FOR FUN. i searched, clicked, registered. as i enter into week 2 of spring quarter, i can say (for now) that i actually find myself wanting to go to class, not only to learn, but to be a witness, to be mission-minded.
as the quarters progress, we eventually, by His grace, cultivate relationships and get to know more peoples. what does this mean, academically?
"take this class with me!"
"we can sit together!"
"let's study!"
which, in and of themselves, are not bad at all. we enroll in classes with these new friends, and we are assured that we no longer look like loners in these classes. and as we begin to take more classes that concern our major and/or minor, we begin to cultivate relationships with our fellow major classmates.
however, because we are sinners, we seek and dwell in comfort and complacency. we don't think of our classrooms as mission fields. instead, we groan, complain, sleep, giggle and chatter with our friends, bring our laptops and go on facebook. if someone were to observe us in a classroom, would they be surprised to find out we're Christians? or would being Christian, set apart from this world, be the first thing they notice?
God has definitely challenged me with a class i am taking called Queer Theory. i absolutely enjoy this class. i admire and respect the professor who is, in fact, a lesbian. some of my classmates, in a class of maybe 30, are gays, lesbians, and/or bi. my classmates laughed and mocked the idea of God telling man to "go forth and multiply."
I CAN'T WAIT.
it's challenging, yes. i am introduced to very graphic concepts i never dreamed of learning. what does it mean to be a Christian in this class? this class may be titled Queer Theory, but i see it more as Being a Witness 101.
because a good number of my classmates are critical gender studies majors, they are familiar with many of the concepts the professor brings up. however, there are a few, like myself, who are new to all this. my professor told the class, very sternly, to not be arrogant. "if the person next to you does not understand, don't just sit there and puff up your ego. talk to them. explain it to them. teach them." and what she said next hit home.
"because, if you can't talk about it or teach it, then you don't know it."
if i, in fact, live in Christ, for Christ, through Christ, this shouldn't be so. there's much to be done.
