Being Met By Love
Met By Love. A feeling that every person craves. Each one of us desires to be fully known and fully loved.
We strive for acceptance and approval from those around us. From a young age and even as we mature, we hope to appear “happy”, “fun”, “thoughtful”. Because of this, we often hide the parts of us that we are ashamed of, or fear would induce judgment. We are afraid to be vulnerable because we are worried that if we show who we truly are, the people around us may not like us.
Thankfully, we don’t need to worry about this when it comes to our Lord and Savior, who fully sees and accepts us for who we are. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” (Ephesians 2:4-5). It is because of this we choose to surrender our lives to him and praise Him for His goodness.
As students at a Christian college, there are many opportunities to worship, to grow in community, and to learn more about the gospel. Through events like chapels, breakout groups, church, Bible studies and more, students and staff can experience God working throughout the week. However, one organization in particular has been extremely influential for so many students at Grove City College.
Met By Love, a student-led organization that began in 2023, is a worship and prayer night that takes place at nine p.m. on Monday nights in Rathburn. Embracing the concept of being met and drawn in by God’s love, this organization reaches out its focus to students, guiding them in their faith as they walk through a new chapter of their life and ensuring as best they can that they feel cared for, seen, and loved for who they are.
The evenings start with praise as the students surround a worship team playing in the center of the room. The night proceeds with a mix of quiet worship and joyful praise as everyone comes together, despite their differences, to worship the same good God. There is often a break somewhere in the middle that consists of prayer, conversation and discussion, or a thoughtful word.
“My favorite part about Met By Love is the community of everyone coming to worship God together. It has helped me to be more consistent in my faith by allowing me to worship God consistently weekly,” says Grove City freshman Lorelai Rames. Having the night on Mondays allows for a strong start to the long week of classes that students have ahead of them, one filled with the reminder that they are fully know and fully loved. So come on by and experience for yourself what it feels like to be met by love.
