“Hey, I put some new shoes on and suddenly everything’s right” - Paolo Nutini

I recently got a pair of new trainers. They came out the box pristine and for the first few weeks, I intended to keep them that way. I would try to avoid any sign of rain or snow and I was tactical as to when I wore them. I was trying to keep them as fresh as the day they had come out of the box but as I was walking around I soon realised I was asking too much. As I walked from place to place I picked up marks, mud and stains. As I lived life it was impossible to keep them like new.

We often live our Christian lives in this way. We see Christianity as something we need to keep clean so we can wrap ourselves into neat, clean friendship groups. We can fill our diaries with all kinds of Christian events. We can see the idea of living a holy life as one of excluding ourselves from people who aren’t Christian.

Yet Jesus wasn't afraid of getting his hands dirty and hanging out with the people who others saw as unclean. Yes, he was holy and blameless but Jesus wasn’t worried that he would be corrupted by the prostitutes, tax-collectors and sick people he hanged around with. Jesus had the power within him to reverse the process and make everything new once again.

You and I have the invitation to do this too. There's so much more to the Christian life than just protecting perfection. We shouldn't be worrying about how university culture can influence us for the worse, we should be looking for ways to change university culture for good because of the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

As you go into this weekend begin to think what you're trying to keep box fresh and clean. Then go to the places which might not look clean or perfect but definitely need Jesus. If you start getting your hands dirty, don't worry you're in good company.