This was an e-mail that I received not long ago from Paul. The circumstances which led Paul to me are nothing short of amazing.

At the beginning of the quarter, Paul went over to the Rec Hall to pick up a financial aid check. He ran into two girls (Jen & Rachel) from our group who were asking students to fill out a One Minute Questionnaire.

Paul filled out the questionnaire and took the Subway coupon that we were giving out.

On the bottom of the coupon was an advertisement for our meeting on campus as well as the web address for our group’s website-www.daviscru.com.

A few weeks later, Paul came across the coupon and noticed the web address. He decided to check it out.

Paul went to our website and read many of the articles that we have posted there. Paul decided that he wanted more information, so he sent me the e-mail that you read above.

After receiving Paul’s e-mail, I gave him a call and we set up an appointment to meet on campus.

I found out that Paul is a transfer student from Mt. Shasta, majoring in Electrical Engineering. Since that was my major in college, we had an instant rapport and we spent the next 30 minutes talking about electrical engineering, possible job opportunities and what it was like when I was a student.

I’m continually amazed at how God allows me to use my degree as a way to reach students and connect with them.

As we began to talk about spiritual things, I could tell that Paul had a misunderstanding of the basic message of Christianity.

I began to share the message of Christianity to Paul in the clearest possible way that I could imagine.

Still, Paul had many questions. I tried to answer each question honestly and briefly, each time returning to the gospel message that I was sharing.

One hour passed, then two. Still Paul could not accept the message.

Paul’s hindrance was this: “It doesn’t seem fair to me that God would allow a murderer to make it into heaven at the 11th hour, while at the same time, He would condemn a good person to an eternity in hell just because He had not accepted Jesus.”

I tried to reason with Paul by talking about God’s justice and the fact that God demands that sin be punished.

I then shared with Paul that the “good” person really isn’t good in God’s eyes. God demands perfect righteousness if we are to come into His presence.

I pulled out every illustration in my arsenal in an effort to convince Paul that Jesus is truly the only way to eternal life.

While Paul now had a better understanding of Christianity, he was not yet ready to accept Christ. He still thought it was unfair for God to allow a murderer in and a “good” person out.

Two and a half hours had passed. I was tired, it was late and I was getting hungry. I was anxious to get home and eat because I was supposed to be back on campus in just a few hours for an evening Bible study.

Finally, I said this to Paul. “Paul, do you deserve to go to heaven?” “No”, he responded.

“Does the murderer deserve to go to heaven?”, I asked.

“No, the murderer doesn’t deserve to go to heaven either”, he replied.

“You don’t believe that you deserve to go to heaven and neither does the murderer. No one deserves to go to heaven, right?”

“Yes, that’s right”, he said.

“Paul, you don’t object to the fact that God demonstrates grace to you by letting you into heaven, but you do object to God showing grace to a murderer. Why is that?”

At that moment, it was as if a light went on in Paul’s head. He finally understood that if the murderer didn’t deserve to go to heaven, then he shouldn’t be allowed to go to heaven either. If we are to accept God’s grace, we shouldn’t be uspet that God freely gives His grace to others.

I then asked Paul if he wanted to make a decision to trust Christ for his sin and begin a relationship with Him. He said yes. Right there, in the middle of the students union, Paul gave his life to Christ.

I’m meeting with Paul now and he’s beginning to grow in the Christian life. Pray for Paul and the other students just like him who have recently accepted Christ.

We’re here on campus to meet the Paul’s whom God has prepared to know Him. And we’re extrememly grateful for you and your part in reaching Paul and other students.

We hope you are as encouraged as we are by what God is doing through us together as we partner to reach students for Christ!