What I learned at University

Two days ago I completed my degree. As you would hope, I learnt a lot from university but the things which I will take away from my time in Exeter are nothing to do with Shakespeare or Joyce or any of the things I was meant to be learning about. No. On reflection on my three years the most life altering thing I learnt was what it means to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

And this is what I have learnt: that far from being a religion with a set of rules you have to follow and which makes you give up your Sunday mornings to go to a dusty old church to say boring prayers; being a Christian is honestly the most engaging and exciting thing it is possible to be. It is about having a genuine, personal relationship with the living God who created the world and everything in it and yet cares for you personally. The great commission and the object of telling people about Jesus is that they will come to know Jesus themselves and enter into a life altering, an eternally life altering knowledge of God as he truly is. 

I am going to begin working for a Church as an apprentice in August and I can't think of anything I would rather do than spend the rest of my life working for and living for Jesus. He is totally worth whatever sacrifices I have to make in terms of wealth and lifestyle because he paid the ultimate cost for me and what can I give in return but my humble service?

The message that I received time and time again is that undertaking a degree was a step towards finding a graduate job, earning more money and settling into the middle class intellectual bubble. That, to me, sounds like the biggest waste of time it is possible to conceive of. If your sole aim in life is to make money for your company and for yourself then what will be left when you are gone? I would rather be remembered as the man who blessed others and changed their life with the news of Jesus Christ that to live my days in ease and comfort moving up the career ladder.

Of course, working for a company is not wrong in itself. But when the purpose of what you do is to chase after money, after things which perish then I cannot understand what fulfillment that will bring. In the words of a wise friend, "money is a good servant, but a poor master".

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." (Matthew 6:19-20)

This is how my life has been altered at university, and the greatest piece of advice I would want to pass on.  I came to university seeking a degree, a job and a comfortable life. I leave with a loving saviour and a message that brings life wherever it goes.