On Monday night, we had our last Bible Study for the school year, and our discussion was very meaningful. Our questions have been deep and rich this semester. We have discovered that our faith shapes our identities in ways beyond what we might of imagined.In our last meeting, we listened to Psalm 139, the psalm we heard on our first night of Bible Study in January.
Psalm 139:1-18
O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.
Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night’,
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end—I am still with you.
Then we read a fable called "The Wallflower" from Friedman's Fables by Edwin Freedman. In Psalm 139, we see how valuable and loved we are, but sometimes we forget and start to believe we will only be acceptable if we create a false self to hide behind. The fable gives a good illustration of how this happens in our lives.
We encouraged one another to live as our true selves. Who are we? Whose are we? Who we are is firmly rooted in Whose we are.
We closed our semester by writing letters to ourselves. What is it that we need to remember about our identities? These letters will be mailed to our houses later in the summer.
Some of our students want to share what Bible Study meant to them this semester:
What did you gain from Bible Study this spring?
"I just enjoyed discussing anything and everything with the group!"-Catherine Faig, Freshman
"I learned more about myself, others, and what it means to be a child of God. I learned that whoever receives the "true light," whoever believes in Him, He gives the power to become children of God (John 1:12). I was reminded of God's commitment to and love for us as He is always with us and will see to completion the good He began among us (Philippians 1:6)."-Patrick Garvin, Senior
"This semester's Bible study taught me that other people are pondering, studying, questioning, growing in, learning about, struggling with, and delighting in their faith - not just me! One passage, one verse even, can spark an hour's worth of conversation because it means something slightly different to everyone. So I've also learned that studying the Bible is not just studying but also interpreting, not thinking just about what the words mean but also about what they mean for me, for us. And I learned that I don't have to be afraid to share my own struggles and delights with other people."-Merrit Martin, Sophomore
I learned a lot! We read and discussed passages that I wasn't very familiar with and this made me think about things that I hadn't spent any thoughts before. Also, we talked about passages that I was familiar with but even then, when discussing and listening to others opinion and meanings of the passages to them, new perspectives and lessons came to me. Bible study has been a very joyful learning experience!!"-Julio Zambrano Ferreira, Graduate Student
"I found community and accountability in my faith with this group. Part of Psalm 139 talks about how God's right hand will "hold me fast" and "guide me." I have never been so sure of His continual guiding presence in my life than after this Bible study concerning our identity. I think He led me to realize that my real identity is solely in Him. Anything I "am" revolves around my relationship with Christ. I pray that He will further my desire to seek Him out and to remember He is ALWAYS with us."-Lindsay Aldrich, Sophomore
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