Summer, it’s finally here. Whether you are just finishing finals for your freshmen year, or if you are turning your tassels, classes are finally over. If you are like me you are just completing your first year of college and are ready to kick back and relax for a while. Whether you had an amazing first year experience of college or if you could not stand it, you still learned a lot of things that you did not know beforehand. Coming from me, I am a Christian and I graduated from a small Christian high school. Coming to a college like JSU was definitely a change for me. I enjoyed my first year no doubt, but I knew beforehand college would be different for me because of my Christian faith. Here are three of the biggest things that I learned being a college Christian in my first year.

1. There are a lot of "Religious people" in college

There is a difference between being a Christian and being religious. Religious people just think if their good outweighs their bad then they will be all right, and they never come to the knowledge that they need a Savior. On the other side, Christians realize that they are sinners and they need saving. No amount of religion can ever save you, only the blood of Jesus Christ can do that. I heard all the time, “Christianity is my religion. I’m religious”. The only thing is, if you are a born again Christian you don’t think of your Christianity as a religion. You think of it as a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, because that’s what true Christianity is. James 1:26-27 tells us, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world”. In my first year, of course I saw true Christians, but what saddens me is I saw more "religious people."

2. Persecution will come if it has not already

Jesus said if the world hates you, just remember that it hated me first. Jesus said this to his disciples foretelling them that persecution would come. If you are a Christian, persecution will come from people who don’t believe like you do. The main goal of someone who is persecuting you is to make you give up or deny your beliefs so you can be accepted. A persecutor has already hit rock bottom, now they are trying to bring you down with them. When persecution comes however, that’s when a key element of Christians walk comes into play, “Faith”. Faith is the reality for what is hoped for, and the proof of what is not yet seen. Faith is a key element in a Christians life. Faith is what holds us up in times of weakness or persecution. You will encounter people in college who don’t think, act, or believe the way that you do. When persecution comes stand firm in your beliefs, the Lord will uphold you. As my family tells me all the time, always stand up for what is right even if you are standing alone. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10)

3. The teachings in any science class will leave out the Bible and God altogether

I took freshmen biology 101 and 102 this year. I succeeded in the courses, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t agree with what the professor was saying. Now I could go into the whole creation versus evolution debate, buts that for another article. I remember the first day of class second semester the professor said let’s leave anything dealing with religion or God or the bible out of the discussions in this class. Coming from a Christian you know I’m not going to keep my mouth shut. Now I was very polite in the way I went about discussing this in class, but no one will ever tell me that I can’t say anything about the Almighty Creator. Technically, you can tell to not say anything, but you can’t stop me from saying something. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us that we should study and show God that we understand truth. This verse refers to knowing God’s word and being able to point out false teachings and philosophies, but it applies to education as well. So never be afraid to taking a stand for what is right, you may be looks at weird at first, but one day the others will understand.

I know this article was short, but these are the three main things coming from a college Christian that I learned in my first year. I know that as college goes on more persecution will come and that I will encounter more teachings that are not the way of the Lord. Overall, I’m not there trying to win the approval of others. I’m there to be a light for others to see. You shouldn’t care about what other people think of you or if they think you are popular and cute, or cool, or whatever. At the end of the day all that matters is where you are with God personally. Maybe you don’t have that personal relationship with Jesus, tis' not too late. Jesus is knocking at your heart, all you gave to do is step out in faith and receive the greatest gift that will ever be offered to you. If you are a Christian and maybe you strayed from God that first year, you are not too far gone either. God still loves you just the same as he did yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Just ask God for forgiveness, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. So, college student, Where are you in your personal relationship with Jesus Christ?