“And [God] said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14, ESV).
Most people who have spent significant time on the campus of the Free Lutheran Bible College and Seminary come away saying something like, “That is a special place.” If you press them for a more concrete reflection, many will describe it as a “Bible place,” or a “sacred space,” or a “restful place.” I tend to agree. Having been anchored firmly in the finished work of Christ, my soul found rest through the consistent teaching and application of God’s Word many years ago at FLBCS.
But this campus was also a place of wrestling for me: How will I pay for school? Will I get married? What will I do for a living? Should I do a summer team?
It’s not just FLBCS. I have found that life is full of wrestling about matters even more consequential than those. It’s part of the everyday life as a Christian—something that no Christian escapes, and mature Christians learn not to resent. Oftentimes, rest lies just beyond the wrestling.
Moses himself wrestled with God as He led Israel—through the water—to a place of rest. But there was wrestling in that rest: fear, failure, judgment, repentance, and faith. Ultimately, God would lead His people through the finished work of the promised Messiah to the fulfillment of that rest: Christ himself was their rest.
The Free Lutheran Bible College and Seminary is a place of both wrestling and rest. Wrestling because the world, our flesh, and the devil set us at enmity with the Living God. Rest because God was in Christ, reconciling us to himself. Enjoy this issue of Kinship, and thank you to those who make it possible to establish students in the Word of God for life in Jesus Christ.
Dr. Wade Mobley [FLBCS President]
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