Wednesday began the first day of classes for everyone at Freed- Hardeman University, which means late nights, homework, and studying begin, well maybe. As college students, we’re deemed “responsible” for ourselves as well as our actions, which at first seems so exciting, but then may suddenly become overwhelming.
As new college students, we are so anxious to begin this new stage of our lives and to start filling up our to-do list with every possible activity we can. We have signed up for classes, gotten our books, settled into our dorms, survived the exhausting week of the interface, and now have begun college all in one week, but far too often we leave something out. Far too often we become so excited to meet new people and to begin this chapter, but we forget to include someone in the equation.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” Matthew 6:33. Regularly we get so consumed with keeping a 4.0 in our classes, but cannot maintain a “4.0” on a spiritual level. We can study for hours on end for one class but leave our Bible somewhere to be a dust collector. The Bible gives us our roadmap for this new chunk of our lives and can provide us support, service, and steer us to new heights. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Oftentimes we place so much value on worldly things that will one day fade away, but the word of God will endure forever. “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever,” Isaiah 40:8.
Ephesians 3:1-10, tells us that there is a time for everything that we do, which inherently means that God has to fit into everything that we have on our schedules. Think about how different we would be if we put in as much time for God as we put into school, sports, or our relationships. God gave everything for us just so that we could have a CHANCE. So many times we would rather do anything but study God’s word or talk to Him, which is so selfish considering He gave it all for people who were going to constantly disregard Him for other irrelevant things.
Christians are constantly ridiculed for being hypocritical because we preach that we want to tell everyone about Jesus, but how can we if we never even open His word. Even though we have chapel every day and are required to take a Bible class, we should WANT more. We should WANT to emerge every ounce of our lives into our awesome Savior. So as this new, exciting chapter starts, please whatever you do, don't forget your Creator. College is going to be an amazing, unbelievable, and stunning ride, but without God, college is a bumpy, overwhelming, and stress-filled experience. We as a student body can change the world, but to change the world we need Jesus; to get to Jesus we have to open that great big book of everything that I know is somewhere in your dorm room.
