Last night ten seminary students converged for fellowship that was long overdue. We start the semester running and by this point we are coming up on the last lap. Our cohort is scattered–some guys are doing Hebrew, some Theology… but last night, we were all doing the same thing. Meat eating, sword fighting, and bearded tackling.

It was exactly what we needed in preparation for Christian leadership and ministry. It was joy abounding. It was humble. It was glorious.

It was a time together that was bought by the blood of the slain Lamb of God. It was by Jesus, in Jesus, and for Jesus. How else can ten sinners from all other the country, from different backgrounds, different ethnicities, different personalities–how else could these men come together and share in such joy? How else could they come and let their guard down and not care about whether they ‘looked like’ graduate students, husbands, and fathers?

It was not cheap. It was deep. It was the evidence of grace that was bought by Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection. We are ten sinners who have been redeemed. We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good and we want to taste Him more, and more, and more. We want to soak in as much as we can from our studies. We want to treasure Jesus more than anything in the world. We want to be persevering, Spirit-dependent leaders in the church for the glory of God. And, sometimes, we need to grab a Nerf sword and go after one another.