Karin
to remember and thank God for His work in Karin…
I met her outside of Cooper Hall
She just wanted a place to sit
Didn’t realize God had made plans for her
with Christ in heavenly places to sit
I heard her accent and asked her where she was from
“Germany,” she said.
Another exchange student,
One semester here to spend.
Exchanged numbers so she could meet
my roommates and friends
Hoping she’d see the love we have for one another
That’s the way that Jesus planned
I didn’t know that I was working
as just another hand
in reaching out to her,
God had already ordained
that those who picked her up from the airport
had the same Spirit in them
had the same desire in them,
to see the gospel spread,
They gave her a Bible in German,
Martin Luther’s translation
So I mentioned Christ to her a couple of times
when we met outside Cooper Hall again,
Then, fast-forward: I get a text,
She says she’s been reading the Bible and
has seen amazing things,
She has questions,
“Can we meet?”
So she comes over and it takes about three
hours for me to share
the good news of Christ with her
She has the right questions,
“How can I be saved?”
I’m showing her the Scriptures,
Amazed at God’s grace
She looks at me with tears in her eyes,
and says she wants to trust
the Christ she had read about,
So I tell her to repent of her sin and trust
the gospel she just heard.
“Cry out to God to save you.”
She’s broken,
He says, “Come,” to those like her,
weary and heavy-laden,
He gives rest to the soul
“I believe,” “I believe,”
“But I have so much more to know,
“I want this faith to grow.”
I’m shaking in amazement,
so I show her more and more
God’s Word is doing the work,
I get the privilege to point at it,
Point at Him,
Let the Spirit run the show
We pray,
she confesses Christ to my roommates,
And the weeks that followed,
she, the redeemed, said so
She knew Christ saved her soul
Bore fruit of the Spirit
Hungry, so
ate through the four gospels, Romans, I think both Corinthians
devoured Genesis and some of Exodus,
And she joined the fellowship,
Every Christian event she wanted to go to,
Came to Grace Bible and we got to know her more,
pointing her to more truth,
A lot of prayers, a lot of teaching and exhortation,
Got her a study Bible in German too…
It is true,
She has much to sacrifice
Luke 14:25-33 never seemed more real to me
She’ll be facing a spiritually dead country
that once housed the birth of the Reformation,
but is now atheist,
and what’s crazy is,
there’s no church in her city,
no Christians she knows,
though we’ve contacted some ministries
that (maybe) found a church thirty minutes from her
She’ll be facing a spiritually dead family,
“They will surely think I’m crazy,”
And a big decision to make about love, true love,
Her whole life will change,
I pray will change,
Lord,
Convince her of Your worth,
over and over again,
That all she has known and loved
is rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of the knowledge of God the Son,
Jesus the Christ
Pearl of immeasurable price,
Worthy to die for…
Convince me of Your worth,
over and over again
I did not have to give up so much,
here in America to trust
and follow You initially,
I’m convicted of my complacency,
Wondering, would I die for You?
I pray I trust this truth:
That You, Merciful King,
will save Your elect,
Your sovereign grace I praise!
You will get Your glory in the end,
And now, and forevermore,
Let Your kingdom come,
And Your will be done
on earth, every nation,
as it is in heaven.
Yes, hear our prayers for her,
and let Your will be done.
Amen.
