What have a pair of jump leads, half a dozen home-made cakes, a stack of Bibles and ten copies of John Stott’s “The Cross of Christ” got in common? Well, they were just some of the contents filling the boots of two very full cars leaving Cambridge at the end of the university term for our annual student reading week in Suffolk.
The ten of us stayed in a gorgeous house near Southwold, right on the coast, and set ourselves the task of studying Titus and reading through “The Cross of Christ” in a week. John Stott’s ‘Magnum Opus’ is one of the ‘must buy’ books that we recommend for students at St Andrew the Great but over the years we’ve found that it’s often bought but seldom read – at least, not right the way through. We were determined to finish it!
Mornings were spent reading a couple of chapters with time for discussion and questions over coffee (and cake). Each student was responsible for taking the rest of the group through their designated chapter, while I filled in the rest. Afternoons were spent playing tennis, walking along the beach, swimming in the sea (for the very brave) or paying back some of the sleep debt accrued during term-time. We then studied Titus together for an hour or so before supper (over a cup of tea and yet more cake) and enjoyed being able to take that at a more leisurely pace than our marathon morning sessions.
It was thrilling to see how people’s understanding of the atonement grew throughout the week. John Stott masterfully explains the holiness of God, the depths of our depravity, the problem of forgiveness (how can God reconcile His righteous anger with His merciful love?) and the costly sacrifice of His Son as the solution to that problem (self-satisfaction by self-substitution). All of these truths were known to us to some degree but none of us failed to benefit from digging a little deeper at the treasure contained there-in.
Those who have read “The Cross of Christ” before will remember how John Stott often quotes from some of the old hymn writers (Horatius Bonar, Augustus Toplady, Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley - to name but a few) in order to illustrate his points (indicating, perhaps, that many modern songs are not reliably teaching Christian doctrine anymore). It was no surprise then that ‘Amazing Grace’, ‘When I Survey’ and ‘Rock of Ages’ featured in the regular chorus of singing emanating from the kitchen!
The studies in Titus brought home to us Paul’s repeated theme that ‘…knowledge of the truth leads to godliness’ (1:1) and we saw the need for our growing understanding of God’s salvation plan to be reflected in our daily living. The final section of “The Cross of Christ” dovetailed well with these studies in Titus as John Stott explains what it means for Christians to live in light of the cross – as a community committed to self-sacrifice, loving and forgiving each other because Christ loves and has forgiven us, even if that means suffering in this life.
But the advantage of weeks like this is not just the formal teaching sessions – there’s always much more going on as the students spend a whole week living and studying together. I’ve often found that the conversations over a meal or walking along the beach are just as important as people work through what living in light of the cross means when they return home, study at college, apply for jobs next year and so on.
It was a hugely encouraging time and I trust that eternity will prove that it was a valuable one as well. Some might argue that spending a whole week away like this is unrealistic but it was a privilege to have been involved with such a committed bunch of students and to see signs of God’s grace at work in them.
The jump leads came in handy too - but that’s another story!
Carrie Sandom
Students Curate at St Andrew the Great, Cambridge