IF YOU COULD WRITE A LETTER TO YOURSELF AS YOU STARTED UNI, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?
Dear Only Just Undergrad-Me,
Welcome to Uni (though that’s not what we called it), welcome to a fleeting event that will profoundly impact the rest of your life. This is not just a continuation of school. It’ll take you just a couple of assignments to convince you of that!
You think you know yourself? Perhaps you do, but that’s going to change. When, at the beginning of your second term, Jesus of Nazareth walks into your life, you are going to have to make an intentional decision whether He stays there, or not. And you will know that it is not just your mindset, but your whole lifestyle that is under siege: your sex life (that’s one big battle: must I wait? Yes, but… I wouldn’t have it otherwise!), parties (hey, Jesus loved parties! So should you, but..er,..you know what I mean), your language (ouch! Well, that’s innocuous enough), your attitude to people and work and parents and…I did say ‘PROFOUNDLY impact the rest of your life’. But, OJU-Me, let me tell you, from my standpoint now, that as I look back over my years I see how Jesus has made all things hold together, has provided for me and in me an integrity of belief and consequent experience, and, at the end, a brightness of purpose and hope that surpasses everything that I could have desired. It really is so.
It is not a continuation of school. I made friends at school, but now they are really not much more than acquaintances. The friends I made at Uni however are, by and large, friends still – people I learnt to trust, have corresponded with over the years, have shared with, the good and the problematic. The fellowship of those to whom Jesus led me has been precious. Jesus’ commission is that we should go out into all the world and make disciples, but He did say ‘go out’. To LIVE in the world is to become like it. It has been within the fellowship of His people that He has worked on me, and it is from that base that I have been able to go out and to be different for Jesus. It was at Uni I learnt that. Look for His people, be part of their fellowship and bear your witness to Jesus in the world.
This is a fleeting moment. I was privileged to be able to use the holidays to seize so many opportunities that were unlikely to come again: to travel, alone or with others, to do vac jobs, to attend conferences, to try new things, to get involved in community service projects. I tried to be prayerful in the choice of what I did, and Jesus changed, reshaped and enriched me immeasurably.
‘…will profoundly impact the rest of your life’. That’s where I started. But it was not just Uni . It was the One Who was there before me, challenged me to get out of the boat and to – walk on water!
Love, Philip
