My involvement with Christian Students on Campus at The University of Texas began rather unexpectedly and entirely against my intention, but looking back since my freshman year I realize that my position was ideally determined by the Lord. In short, Christian Students on Campus brought me out of my individualistic disposition into a Christian community of people on campus who participate in Christian fellowship and ministry because they love the Lord Jesus Christ.

Coming to The University of Texas at Austin as an Uninspired Christian

Philip

First of all, I did not want to go to college at The University of Texas at Austin. As an introvert with a bent towards the liberal arts, I preferred a small learning environment – small classes, one-on-one time with teachers, and the absence of large crowds and social activities which plague larger schools. Understandably, most of the colleges I looked at were the exact opposite of The University of Texas. However, in the college application process, The University of Texas became the most financially viable option for a higher education. In addition, my particular areas of study (English and Music) turned out to be relatively limited fields, so the classes would be small anyway. Because of this, I reluctantly accepted my fate (or so I called it at the time) to go to school in Austin, a school fifty-thousand strong where I hoped to simply survive  for four years as an anonymous and cold Christian entity.

My First Encounter with Christian Students on Campus

Throughout high-school, I consciously avoided joining any clubs because I felt that they would simply waste my time. Coming to The University of Texas I had the same mindset, so I actively circumvented club tables during my summer freshman orientation. But the Christian Students on Campus club was a different story altogether. Unlike the other clubs, they were happy to inform me with fliers and news about their events, and they always eagerly helped me with directions when I was lost. At first I wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to this kind of focused attention. I had been a Christian my entire life, but not a very active one. Like many children growing up in the South, going to church on Sunday was a regular part of life, and I grudgingly tolerated it throughout high school. In sharp contrast with my anti-social and flaccid Christian existence, Christian Students on Campus displayed another side of the faith which fascinated me. They seemed to actually enjoy telling me about Jesus and getting to know me on a spiritual level. Despite my natural inclinations, an unforeseen attraction drove me to approach their table and sign up for further information and potential Christian fellowship.

The Divine Romance in Jester Dormitory

Later during the orientation I set aside some time to attend a Christian Students on Campus Bible study in the Jester dormitory, which revolutionized my own approach to Christianity. They titled it “The Divine Romance” – already intriguing and provocative. In the presentation though, Christian Students on Campus revealed God in a very intimate light that I wasn’t anticipating. Before meeting Christian Students on Campus, I considered God to be a distant figure, one who cared for his believers impersonally like a benevolent (but sometimes neglectful) monarch. In the club’s presentation though, I learned that God became a man – Jesus Christ – because He loved man, and that the end goal of the entire Bible is the union of God and man in an eternal marriage. The fact that God loved His creation to that degree really struck me, and caused me to reconsider my personal communication with the Lord. I also compelled myself to reconsider my disinclination towards joining clubs. Christian Students on Campus had shown me a Biblical truth which put me on the path to a more involved and more profound relationship with God.

In Conclusion

Looking back now, God’s plan makes significantly more sense than it did when I was entering college. I realize now that God carefully crafted my situation in order to bring me closer to Him. Most importantly in this process, He changed my temperament. He transformed my individualistic attitude into a disposition much better suited to get involved with a large group of fellow Christians. If I had gone to a tiny school, my contact with God may have grown colder. But going to The University of Texas at Austin allowed me to connect with an encouraging assembly of Christians who taught me (and are still teaching me) to appreciate God and love God every day.