If I have been walking closely with the Lord Jesus Christ, if I have been giving top priority to “the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” if I have been praying sincerely, “Thy will be done,” then I am a student at this college not primarily because I chose to come here but because God chose to have me do so.

God is sovereign. This means that he is at work in the affairs of men. In my affairs. He has a plan for my life, and that plan includes the college I am to attend. “He doeth according to his will … among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand.”

God’s plan is very complex; no human mind can begin to comprehend it all. We know, however, that it calls for the participation of human beings. The Bible suggests several aspects of the answer to my question, “Why am I at this school?”

For one thing, I am at this school because the Lord desires to receive a product to which he is entitled. He wants a fair return on his investment in this world. Recall Isaiah 5:1–7 and the analogy with the vineyard: God, the vineyard planter, is entitled to an abundant harvest of high quality.

Second, college provides a good milieu for God to work on me; like an artisan with crude material, he chisels and molds a personality that will be conformed to the image of his Son. As he goes about this business of making me like Jesus Christ, he will send a variety of experiences my way and expose me to diverse situations and people. There will be discouraging periods to strengthen my faithfulness, irritating situations to develop my patience, sorrows to help me lean on him for comfort, defeats to smash my pride, joys to remind me that all good things in life are from his hand.

But whatever comes my way this year, may I remember that if I am the Lord’s then everything fits into his purpose for my life. All things work together to fit into a plan for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Molding this raw material into the product of God’s design takes tune. His Holy Spirit does the work gradually (2 Cor. 3:18), and college years can be part of that process.

Third, God’s plan calls for me to be on this specific campus this year so that he can use me to help other Christians on campus—Christians who can be encouraged by my fellowship, supported by my prayers, comforted by my sympathy, strengthened by my association, and taught by my example and by my speaking, if I have that gift. May I keep my eyes open for at least one other Christian to join in reading God’s Word and praying, as we seek to become “rooted and built up in him and established in the faith” (Col. 2:7).

From the college component of God’s world at the present time, he apparently is receiving very little. There are two types of product he should be receiving: characters that are righteous and deeds that are good. We are tempted to examine our situations primarily from the perspective of “What do I get out of it?” The Bible teaches that we do well to ask, “What does God get out of it?” Numbers 28:1–8 describes the purpose of the continual burnt offering (which was the most frequent of the many types of offerings) as providing the Lord with a sweet-smelling savor. Hebrews 13:15 talks about our continual offering of praise to God. Applying these two passages to the question of the moment suggests that one reason I am in college is to produce good works as my offering to him—to bring him pleasure.

What are some of the qualities of life that will delight him? Honesty, integrity, truth, attention to his Word, diligent study in my classes, concern for the welfare of other people, service to the underprivileged (i.e., applying Luke 10:37 to those suffering from forces beyond their control). This is all part of loving him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving other people as much as I love myself.

God is entitled to receive such products from every part of his creation—including the college world. One reason he has placed me at this school is to be at least one branch that can bear good fruit in the college portion of his great vineyard.

Fourth, God will use me as a witness to non-believers. This college is a mission field. From here will go some of the future social, cultural, political, and economic leaders of our country and possibly some foreign countries. The college population of the United States and Canada now numbers several million, and includes thousands—both students and faculty—who are searching for purpose in life. Christians are convinced that they are hungry for the Bread of Life, for God himself as revealed in Jesus Christ.

Churches have a hard time getting through to college students. But they can be reached by Christian colleagues. This is where I might come in. The Lord may be calling me to serve on campus for a few years as a student who knows Jesus Christ in the midst of other students, a few of whom are yearning to know him. Early in the semester, I’ll write on my prayer list the name of at least one student, maybe a roommate or classmate, who does not claim to know Jesus Christ. I might add at least one of my professors also; profound as his knowledge may be in his academic field, if he isn’t personally related to Jesus Christ he is in spiritual darkness. Jesus said we are to be the “light of the world,” transmitters of his own spirit to a world in darkness. As a Christian student, I should take as my number-one priority for evangelism fellow students, my peers. The Lord uses students to bring other students to himself.

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Fifth, I’m at this school this year to serve as one of the dwelling places for God’s spirit at this institution. Even if God is neglected in the classroom and in the rest of college life, the Holy Spirit is still here. May I be one of his residential points in this student body.—John W. Alexander, general director, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, Chicago, Illinois.

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