Having served as a campus minister for several years, I became acutely aware of how traumatic the transition between high school and college could be. Many young people, having been raised in sheltered environments, had to discover shocking truths.
Clothes don’t wash themselves.
Bathrooms don’t clean themselves.
Checking accounts have to be balanced.
Credit cards have to be managed.
Living space must be shared.
Similarly, as we mature as Christians, we discover things that open our eyes and deepen our faith. Maybe this is what Paul was getting at when he said you have to put away childish things after a while. There’s a time to get your high school degree and go off to college. There’s a time for the nurturing you’ve received to result in growing and maturing.
College-level faith expands on what you’ve been taught. Sometimes it makes you question what you’ve assumed to be right. It encourages you to come up with your own answers to life’s issues, based on your own thoughts and experiences.
Here are some college-level truths about Christian living:
There are different ways of understanding some biblical passages.
Faith is imitating Christ in real life situations; it’s trusting him in my heart even when I may not be too sure about things in my head.
People from different faiths or from no faith can teach me a lot.
Christian love requires honesty and humility, not spiritual illusion and arrogance.
From your walk with Christ, what other college facts could you add to this list? Would you like to share your insights in a comment at the end of this meditation?
Life’s boundaries are a lot larger than the spiritual home in which you grew up. Blacks and whites meld into a variety of colors, with gray sometimes being predominant. Following Jesus into this reality reveals a Christ who is equally larger and more colorful than the One you thought you knew at home.
So true.
As I departed for college these 55+ years ago.. I recall those feelings of anxiety and yet wonder.. where was God going to “fit in” with all those new friends I’d be making. One of my first friends was a lovely Jewish girl from K. C.. we both learned quickly that though we had differing beliefs in Jesus, who he was and the role he played in my life we both learned quickly we worship the same LOVING God who LOVES and nurtures us all.