The First and the Best

I have recently graduated from UCLA this past Spring quarter, and having reviewed the experiences in my college years, I can say that the most enjoyable and memorable times I’ve had here at UCLA have been the times of pursuing and enjoying our dear Lord Jesus with Christian Students. Upon arriving to UCLA from Palmdale, CA as a theater major my Freshman year, naturally I was caught by the excitement of living in LA, fueled by my dreams of stardom, and thrilled about all the new and varied experiences that college life had to offer me. Among them, was finding a group of Christians I could relate to and feel comfortable with. However, as time passed, all the other things of college living came into play, and they began to overshadow my desire for fellowship until soon, I just gave up on meeting with any Christian group at all. But, after two years, at the beginning of my Junior year, I was brought to a feeling of emptiness; I just knew that it was the Lord who was missing in my life, especially after realizing that none of the other things were satisfying me.

During this time, my thirst for the Christ and for fellowship grew to be so desperate. I remember praying to the Lord, “Lord, I need you, I am so dissatisfied with everything else; I know I haven’t been very faithful to you these past two years, but please give me a group this year, Lord.” I received a Christian Students WELCOME DINNER Flyer from a student on the first day of school, and I quickly became interested. That night, I walked into a room full of people singing and praising God with songs that began to really turn my heart around. Their enjoyment and love for the Lord captured me. I met some very genuine people that night, people who became real shepherds to me during my last 2 years of college. The times that we spent together in the Word, in the small group dinners, and group Bible studies, were the most precious times I have experienced Christ ministered to me…and I left every meeting and fellowship time SATISFIED in CHRIST! I enjoyed that Christ is even more to me than my eternal Savior, but as the Holy Spirit living in me, I can experience Him daily as my supply and joy!! I enjoyed that Christ is our Beloved, who desires to gain our hearts and fill us with Himself so that we may express Him and hold forth the WORD of LIFE!!! And the most awesome thing about it all was that we were a bunch of young people with diverse backgrounds and majors, yet we were all pursuing the same goal- to seek Christ, to experience him as our first and best love and as our everything. I am so grateful to the Lord for giving me exactly what I needed-- in the midst of a normal college environment wher e so many other things can seem more attractive than the Lord—He gave me companions and shepherds with whom I realized that, on the contrary, Christ HIMSELF, is the most attractive and satisfying One…Halleluiah!!! It is such a joy to have Him be our first and best love above all things.

– Anonymous