It’s 7:27 a.m. on the third Friday of my sophomore year. I sit down with my oatmeal, pack some scrambled eggs, and review for my quiz that’s in two hours. School’s in full swing and I find myself longing to be back in summer mode, when I could simply enjoy the Lord without having to wonder what’s going on in microbiology.

Despite the whirlwind that is this semester, I have peace. Reading cringey journal entries from even four months ago, I’m reminded of the Lord’s faithful, day-by-day growth in my being. My enjoyment of Him increased tenfold during the CSOC summer internship, and the new students I’ve met are written on my heart. The inscription on the UT tower testifies, “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). In light of this, I’ve narrowed down to three key points I think every Christian in college should consider. Whether you’ve been with the club for a while now, you’re new, or you’re still finding your place on campus, I hope you’ll gain something out of these.

Christ-centered community

Get plugged in with genuine Jesus-lovers.

The people you get related to in college will shape your character and pursuits for the rest of your life. Even the most devout Christians headed into freshman year are susceptible to being led astray⁠. The world will be constantly preaching a different “gospel” to you through media, culture, and education, promising happiness in things that never fully satisfy.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. (1 Pet. 2:9)

Surrounding yourself with the right community will constantly remind you of your real identity. Everything in this verse applies to you! You are chosen, royal, holy, God’s special possession. Don’t let the world sell you a lesser story. 

God calls you to a “together life.” Doing all the normal things in your schedule with other Christians, like eating in each others’ homes (Acts 2:46), working out together, and studying for exams together, will revolutionize your experience of Christian reality and community. The people I’ve grown to love in Christian Students on Campus have no separation between their church life and their ordinary life. Christ is your life (Col. 3:4)! It’s wonderful to be on the same page with patterns of Him always close by.

Academics

Get good grades. Nurture social relationships. 

Christ and a college degree are not mutually exclusive. Don’t neglect one for the other! Be a serious student for God’s kingdom. Jesus, at one point, was an 18-year-old who read and studied His textbook, the Scriptures. An outstanding student from a young age, He set the standard in valuing education for His Father’s will, asking his teachers questions and amazing them with His understanding and answers (Luke 2:46-47). As an ambassador of Christ, you need to represent Him well in this. How about glorifying Christ by amazing your professor with your answers?

They found Jesus in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both hearing them and questioning them. And all those who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. (Luke 2:46-47)

In His humanity, Jesus grew not only physically, but in wisdom (Luke 2:52). Wisdom is the quality of applying knowledge, experience, and sound judgment. This means you too should take care of your body as His temple (1 Cor. 6:19) and sharpen your mind to love Him to your fullest mental capacity (Matt. 22:37). How diligently you commit to growing in knowledge and how willingly you give yourself to the Lord during college will impact how useful you will be to Him.

As much as I’d like to sit by some trees, read my Bible, go to Bible school, and fellowship all day, The University of Texas is my training ground, a governing authority which I am academically subject to for the time being (Rom. 13:1). By performing well in the classroom and developing a heart for others, you will establish points of connection and credibility within your social circles, and your advancement in  grace will be manifested before your classmates. You will become more relatable to them, and this will create opportunities to minister Christ. Though it may sound daunting initially, you have been approved by God, who desires all men to be saved and to come to full knowledge of the truth, to be entrusted with the gospel (1 Tim. 2:4, 1 Thess. 2:4). So long as you enjoy Him day by day, you will want others to experience this inexpressible joy, and He will be faithful to speak through you.

Morning time with Jesus

Get on a Bible reading schedule. Talk to the Lord.

Jesus is obviously lovely when we’re corporately praising Him, but if you do not cultivate a hidden and personal life with Him, your growth will be stunted. The spiritual battle begins every morning the moment you wake up. Taking care of your spiritual eating from the start of your day is important, because through the crevices of your fallen human nature, the evil one can sneak into your flesh, thoughts, feelings, and will. We’re especially exposed to this on the college campus, and you will be presented with situations that test your faith and conscience, “which some, thrusting these away, have become shipwrecked regarding the faith” (1 Tim. 1:19).

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lam. 3:22-23)

Morning time with the Lord is like oatmeal: it’s simple, it’s not an impressive dish, and it may not explode your taste buds, but you notice a stark difference when you skip it. Spiritual breakfasts have sustained me for the past four years. When you partake of Christ in the morning, you open up to a steady flow of spiritual nutrients for the rest of the day, supplying you with inward joy and rest as you walk from class to class. As Merrill shared at Freshmen Connect, “How do you know when you love someone? You have to love what they say. You have to have a heart that cares for the words that come out of their mouth.” From your first semester, learn to care for what the Triune God says by knowing, and not just knowing about, His Word. 

Just as Jesus prayed to the Father in a private place in the mountains (Matt. 14:23, Luke 6:12), you need to start learning how to converse with the Lord, not out of routine, but because this is how loving another person is sustained. The Lord Jesus is a real, living, precious Person who has brought you into glorious freedom and is worthy of all your love.

When I look back on my four years in college, I will remember the days lived in delightful community, the “aha” moments of realizing depictions of hard-hitting spiritual truths in my classes, and the personal times I spent with Christ. His grace really is sufficient. I pray His grand purpose would be revealed to you, and that it would become your purpose as you begin your freshman year. Together, you and I can make our time in college count for something more meaningful than a degree, career, or life we would seek apart from Him.

By: Sunny Kang