Marianna Marques, a student at Harvard Law School, recently published a stunning blog post on the university’s website about her incredible journey with God.
And because of Marques’ candidness and bravery, prospective students at Harvard were treated to something one doesn’t often encounter on an ivy league website: a compelling testimony filled with faith, hope, and the redeeming power of Jesus.
“At a young age, I gave my life to Jesus Christ. At age 13, while I was reflecting on my life plans, I heard God’s voice (in my spirit) for the first time: ‘Those are your plans for yourself, not Mine,’” she wrote. “Although God says in Scripture that He has a plan for each of us, I hadn’t consulted Him as I had developed my own. I hadn’t trusted that His plans would bring me satisfaction — I lacked faith and wanted control.”
Marques continued, “But in that instance, I decided to trust Him and to surrender my plans.”
She proceeded to share her faith and education journeys. And during an interview with the “Edifi With Billy Hallowell” podcast, Marques revealed why she so openly decided to write about her faith.
Listen to Marques’ powerful story:
“Admissions runs a blog called ‘Student Voices,’” Marques said, noting the site helps prospective students learn more about the Harvard Law experience. When she heard the university was looking for more students to share perspectives, she decided to dive right in.
“I thought, ‘Well, I haven’t seen people really share the spiritual side to what led them to law school,’” she said. “So, I thought it would be a unique perspective that would be worth sharing.”
Marques used the post to share her pathway to law school and reveal central facets of the Gospel. Here is the portion of the piece that delves into Jesus and his importance in Marques’ life:
“Finding our voice is powerful. My voice in particular does not come from me, from the news I watch, from the people I follow, or even from my friends or family. My life belongs to Jesus Christ, so I choose to allow Him to speak through me. When Jesus walked the Earth, many tried to silence Him and to stop Him from denouncing the corrupt religious leaders. They even killed Him, thinking that death would quench His voice. But when He resurrected three days later, He proved that His voice would never die. Instead, His innocent blood was spilled in the place of our guilty blood. He paid the price for our sins so that we could be free. Free from anxiety, depression, vices, anger, pain, trauma, pride, greed, and on and on. By asking Jesus to forgive us for all we’ve done wrong and by continually seeking Him, we are saved. We are set free from the pain of our past and worries of our present and future. We live forever (John 3). This good news is what my voice now proclaims.”
These truths are remarkable to read on the Harvard Law School website, and they are present simply because Marques stepped out in faith to share the truth boldly.
She said she anticipated some pushback but has had a “lot of positive reactions” to her article. Either way, though, she knew beforehand that, no matter what, God — if He wanted it to be so — would allow her story to be told.
“The devil doesn’t want people to know that we can have freedom, salvation, life in abundance through Christ,” Marques said. “I knew in that sense it would be a spiritual battle, but I knew that if God wanted the story to be shared that He would also make a way.”
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Rather than seeing law school through a mere temporal or educational lens, Marques said she believes God brought her to Harvard with a purpose: to share the truth.
“The whole reason I feel like God brought me here is to spread His truth, spread His love to others,” she said. “And so I felt like this was a great opportunity to show what God can we do when we give our lives to Him and walk with Him.”
Though founded as a Christian institution to train ministers, Harvard is now known for its secular and elite nature. Marques, however, believes God “is moving” on campus.
“That’s what the enemy wants us to think — ‘Harvard’s doomed,’” she said. “That’s just not true. Not only is it not true, even if it were true, the church still has the authority that Christ has given us to push back the power of darkness.”
Marques said she and other students are praying for revival on campus and that she has prayed with professors.
“God is there. God is everywhere,” she said. “He is moving.”
Read Marques’ inspiring testimony on Harvard’s website here, and listen to her powerful podcast interview here.
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