A few days later, the younger son gathered together everything that he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered and wasted his fortune in reckless and immoral living. - Luke 15:13 

Sound familiar to you? For me, this verse from the story of the prodigal son is a perfect illustration of university.

In culture and media, the story of the stereotypical student sees them leaving home for a far-flung campus, living a wasteful life of recklessness where student loans and parental allowances are squandered on the indulgences and opportunities found in the newly found freedom of university.

I see the terms binge, excess and overdraft used to define a generation by people who sit in cold and detached judgement of the overindulgence of students, who are identified according to their latest moral failures and wild excesses.

All across society, students are told that they are the squandering prodigals. When this identity is constantly screamed out over students, it’s no wonder we live lost and scared in a foreign land searching for fulfilment in emptiness.

Yet this is not the reality you are called to.

Regardless of how you see yourself or how many jägerbombs you smashed last Friday, you are not a prodigal. You are a child of promise.

The bible tells us in Galatians that all people are children of God's promise and you have the opportunity to live according to the promises of God’s mercy, regardless of your history or what your stereotyped destiny is.

As a promised one, Jesus calls you to life and life in all its fullness, an adventure that is far more satisfying than the emptiness of overindulgence and recklessness.

So as you strap back into the rollercoaster of university life, what is your choice?

Prodigal? Or Promised?