Moving away to college, it is inevitable that your faith will be tested and be sent through obstacles. God wants the way we serve him to be genuine, so in making us answer to our faith, we find out what parts of us are committed to serving an Almighty God. The truth is, being a Christian on a secular college campus is never going to be easy. But that does not mean it is not where we are supposed to be. Being surrounded by people so against what you believe in may seem like you are in the wrong place, but you are put there to serve and be the hand of God in a place that denies his existence.
1 Peters 1:1-2 says, “To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ.” Even though you may feel like everyone's against you, your God placed you exactly where you are, with all of the trials and tests planned out in front of you, in order to better your faith and your journey with him.
It can be hard to speak up and share your faith with the people around you, but is that not our purpose? Are we not intended to bring others to the most loving and incredible God? Some people will write you off the minute they hear you say you go to church or that you read the Bible and believe in its message. But some people won’t. There is a pool of people thirsty for God, who have no way of getting to him because of all the negativity surrounding him in today’s culture. Be the light. Be the positive face that is not afraid to bring up God around a group of people who do not believe in him. You are far more than the shame the world tries to bring you.
Serving God is never something to be ashamed of. Soon after moving to a very liberal and unreligious campus, I realized I was no longer in the large mass of Christians like I was in my hometown. I became a minority, and that was initially a very intimidating thing. Before college, I knew a small handful of people who did not have similar beliefs to mine, but moving here, I have had to search for the ones whose beliefs are even in the same realm. This does not have to be a bad thing. I have been tested to move outside of my comfort zone, to ask questions about my beliefs, and to spend hours looking for the answers within His word. I have been tested in faith to stand out against a world that does not see creation in the same way that I do.
Most of the people I have encountered that are against the idea of God, or the church, or organized religion, have all been taught the wrong ideas. It has become a popular belief that our God is angry or vindictive, but the truth of the matter is that our God is loving and fatherly and always on our side. In today's society, church often has a negative connotation because the lessons taught there are often taken outside of the church and twisted into lies. Church is not a place to go when you made a mistake the night before and want to repent and go your own way for the next three months. Church is family and worship and a love greater than anything you could imagine.
Moving away to a college campus that is different from the environment you grew up in does not change how incredible the God you serve is. It may be harder to find Him when the people around you are not abundantly singing his praise, but that does not mean he is not there. He is always with you, even when the rest of the world is not. Be the voice that yells from the mountaintops of the love you have found (or that has found you). Be the voice that is not ashamed of the incredible God that we serve.
