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Archives: January 2010
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Archives: January 2010
Full fat life...
By Patrick Allerton
Life at university poses all kinds of different questions…which courses should I take? What career do I want? Who do I want to be friends with? Should I get up today…? Come on…you know it’s true! University is a unique time in our lives and we all want to make the most of each opportunity in our lives and to live well.
Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10v10). But what does this mean, and more importantly, what relevance does it have for me right now, in the 21st century, when I can check Facebook and move satellites with my wrist watch?!
Jesus was the most strong, compelling, courageous, humble, wise and loving person ever. His promise to us is ‘life to the full’ and he gives us the power to live it by God’s Spirit. We have the very same power that Jesus had: the power to live with integrity. Jesus understood that abundant life was life lived with God, in communion with God, in dependence on God, in obedience to God. So he wasn’t afraid to make tough calls. Like when he drove the money changers out of the temple courts with a home-made whip, or when he stuck to hard teachings to such an extent that most of his followers left him.
I guess what he showed us is that life to the full is a life of undivided love for God, even when it hurts. It was this undivided love and integrity that led him to the cross. And it is undivided love and integrity that he calls us to today. Because without it things can go a bit pete tong…
There’s a favourite Youth Group demonstration to show how this can happen...and it involves two chairs and a volunteer. You put the chairs together back to back and then have someone stand astride of them, one foot on each chair. Now the chairs represent two camps, Jesus and the world. When we live a double life, we have one foot in both camps. One minute we’re doing our Christian stuff, the next we’re doing things Jesus wouldn’t…
The problem with this lifestyle though, is that Jesus is walking in one direction, and the world is running in the other (and the youth leader slowly separates the chairs…). So trying to live this way just means we end up doing the splits! (Now the only problem with this analogy is that guys instinctively know splits aren’t good, whilst some of you girls think, “cool…the splits”. Let’s go with the guy interpretation!)
The point is that every choice we make in life has the power to unite or divide us, to bring us closer to God or take us further away.
So how do we make good choices at uni and keep from doing the splits? Well here are three simple tips:
Find a Church...
Jesus was part of various sized groups, 3, 12, 72 with whom he lived, hung out and ministered. Church is the name for a group of gathered Christians. There’s nothing more important than close Christian friends to help us live life well. Find a church and get in a small group.
Read God’s Word...
Jesus said ‘man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4v4). The Bible is spiritual food, so tuck in! It reveals the path of abundant life. Try and read a bit each day, and watch God’s power at work…
Pray in the Spirit...
Jesus prayed and if he did, so should we! Simply put, prayer is dependence on God, recognising that we are human and desperately need our Father’s help. Pray on your own, with friends, on your bike, in the library, as you walk, as you drive, in your flat, in boring lectures…anytime and any place about anything and everything!
It’s tough to live a life of integrity at uni, but with Christ in us it is definitely possible. Our Lord and Saviour was a leader and revolutionary, a very public figure with a message for the world and he calls us to follow him, doing the things he did. That’s what I’m up for! We should be looking to see God’s Kingdom come as we follow Jesus Christ.
I’m a massive fan of the West Wing, simply the greatest TV show ever. At one point, looking to encourage his staff, President Bartlet quotes a sociologist called Margaret Mead; “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”. If that is true for just mere citizens, how much more for God’s own dear children?
The revolution is happening, The Kingdom is breaking in, but the change comes incrementally, with every choice we make. Let’s be those who live with integrity and show what life to the full looks like.
About the author...
Pat Allerton met Jesus when he was 18. Since then he's studied theology at Edinburgh, taught in a school, worked in the city doing finance and flirted with a career in law. He is currently training for ordination in the Church of England and wondering what to do next.
Pat also works for Student Alpha, so do visit their
site for a bunch of great ideas and resources...
Visit studentalpha.org...
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