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To start my impressions, I would like to talk about my Christian background, with my
father being a church pastor for longer than I was born, and my mother also being very involved
in Christian ministry. This was the foundation for my love of Christianity, and why I always
voluntarily went to church. So, even though I have always been around God’s presence, I have
never taken the time out of my every day to connect with Him outside of church or separate
bible studies. Just reading the bible alone never really gave me time to comprehend and fully
immerse myself in Jesus’ intentions and teachings. Even when I have heard all the parables
and stories told by Jesus, whether from sermons or videos, I still never found myself paying full
attention and remembering key details within them. For example, why did Jesus care more for
that one sheep away from the flock rather than the entire herd of sheep he already had? Or,
Why did Jesus still allow that woman to pour ointment on His feet rather than giving the money
to the poor? These were just some of the many things that I vaguely understood, but never
bothered to research on my own.
Firstly, I consider writing the word to be five times or ten times more effective than just
reading it due to the intensive and time-consuming nature of writing as opposed to reading.
Writing the same verse that one has read previously allows for the message to sink deeper than
reading ever could. There were also many details in the scripture that I didn’t see before I
discovered them while writing the word of God. For instance, I always perceived Jesus as
someone above all humans who could never relate with us everyday people, but the more I
read, the more I realized that Jesus was almost fully human and fully God. Although Jesus
never fully mentions all issues that face humans and primarily focuses on the afterlife and the
eternal life that resides with God, He still speaks about wealth, social class, and hunger, all the
time throughout His life with the disciples. For example, Jesus mentions the corruption and evil
of the Pharisees who take the best seats in the synagogues, and His concern for the hunger of
the massive crowd following him in Bethsaida. All these examples grew my respect for Jesus,
not just because He is the Son of God, but because of His transparent love and compassion for
us humans.
Secondly, as I’ve read through all the parables that Jesus shares with us, I noticed that
His parables remain relevant even today. The New Testament is more than 2000 years old
which can create the illusion of it being outdated, and I thought the same for a long time, always
laughing at the way they spoke and argued with each other through a sophisticated way of
speaking. But I got rid of this prejudice after I realized the shocking resemblance between
scenarios within the bible and my everyday life through all the unclear language. For instance,
persecution for being different and Jesus’ warning that many will suffer because they believe in
Him are things I see in everyday life all the time. Whether it’s from bullying because we
Christians believe in Jesus, or many Christians in the Middle East being removed from their
homes by surrounding Islamic countries. Also, one of the parables that resonates with me the
most as of now is the parable of the two debtors. In honesty, I’m a selfish person who always
wants the best for myself as opposed to the well-being of others. I thought this parable spoke
directly to my greed and selfishness. Just as how the first slave was forgiven of debt and then
proceeded to punish those indebted to him, I always see myself receiving kindness but never
paying it back. This parable allowed me to look back on how I could be more grateful for others
and how to repay my kindness.
Lastly, I would like to talk about sacrifice and what Jesus has told me through the bible. I
believe that sacrifice is never something anyone wants to do voluntarily, but it’s a mandatory
action. The same goes for the gate of heaven and the sacrifice needed to go through that gate.
The best example is in all four books, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, where Jesus sacrificed
himself for our sins. While writing, I found myself in pain watching the same event occur four
different times on different accounts. Every book started with His thoughtful teachings but
always ended in the crucifixion of Jesus for a crime He never committed. Just as how Jesus
died for something He was never obligated to do, we as people in the twenty-first century should
also strive to sacrifice something in the secular world to focus on teaching and spreading the
word of God to others. "And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up
for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." (Ephesians 5:2).
In conclusion, even though my right hand hurts after all the vigorous writing, I would still
gladly give that up over and over again if this opportunity would ever come up again. I would
also like to thank the people responsible for funding and managing this scholarship program for
providing this opportunity for me and so many other students who can receive funding while
also connecting with the word of God. I couldn’t have been more grateful for this opportunity.