CRU Update

This week at CRU, we continued looking into the Gospel of Mark – an account of Jesus’s life from the perspective of Mark. We began with a game of “Would You Rather”, with questions such as – Would you rather be on the bench for the First XV for the whole season or be the star player for another undefeated team? We then interviewed Liam Matthews, both with some quickfire questions, but also some deeper questions, such as the reasons he became a Christian. After that, Caleb Schmidt gave the talk on Mark 10:17-27, starting with the relatable experience of pestering an English teacher for quotes right before an examination (something I’m sure we’re all guilty of). Caleb explained that a wealthy young man was asking Jesus the ultimate question – What must you do to inherit eternal life?

As important as getting quotes for an English test is, and as good as our English teachers are, they can’t compare to the knowledge of Jesus. Jesus began by reminding the wealthy man of some of the Ten Commandments – do not murder, do not steal. Although the wealthy man said he had followed these since he was a child, Jesus then presented him with a greater challenge – to give up all his wealth and follow Jesus. Jesus, the master of questions and reflections actually shows this man that he hasn’t indeed kept the first commandment of having no other God except God. When confronted with this, the man’s face fell, and he walked away. For this man, he was holding onto his possessions before God. Jesus makes the staggering claim that we can’t be saved through our own means. Instead, only through Jesus can we be saved and inherit eternal life. We all fall short of God’s standards, but Jesus’s death means that we don’t have to be perfect. Moving forward, we will have CRU on Thursday lunchtimes for Years 7 to 8 and Friday lunchtimes for Years 9 to 12. In addition, there is a weekly Bible study run every lunch for each Year Group, and an exciting weekend camp held with Abbotsleigh is coming up soon. You don’t need to be a Christian to come to CRU – all you need is yourself and an interest in looking further into Christianity with a supportive group of friends, a soft drink and a sausage sandwich.

Jayden Pan
Year 11