One of the most difficult topics to address is suffering. It’s something we all experience at some point in life, probably many times, and in very different ways. It can be really hard to address in a short talk, and there are often people who come along to listen who are at that moment suffering – so it’s something you need to navigate very gently too.
But, it’s also one of the best topics to speak about as a way to get to sharing the Gospel! Jesus himself stepped in to this world and experienced great suffering, for us! So we can point people to him as our sympathetic High Priest, as the author of Hebrews puts it.
Recently the Christian Union at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen invited me to speak at a lunch event of the topic ‘Why do we experience suffering?’. As I made my way to the venue I passed the CU team in a broad and busy corridor area where they were busy engaging with people to invite them to come along for a free lunch and to hear a talk on the issue of suffering. The place was buzzing with energy as new students were moving past all the tables where different groups and clubs had pop-up stalls showcasing their different activities.
That energy continued as the event began, and there was a good turnout with several visitors coming after receiving flyers, and several more came along with Christian friends who had invited them. After the talk there were some really good conversations all around the room, and I had the opportunity to spend some time speaking to two student who had arrived in Scotland from Nigeria just 3 weeks ago. They were really intrigued with the fact that Christians were doing events like this, and were keen to come along to future events to hear more.
Engaging on universities campuses can often feel daunting, but time after time I’m so encouraged by the openness that people have to hearing about the truth of Christianity. Let’s continue to pray that the seeds that are sown at events like this will be watered and flourish.
