by Hansol An

Lighthouse Bible Church has always challenged our members with the depth and breadth of teaching offered. Many collegians have told me that they had not been exposed to the type of teaching offered at LBC prior to coming here. While that can be a tremendous blessing, for younger people it can also be a stumbling block, often without realizing it. When a younger person has been deeply impacted by a new teaching or revelation, there is a tendency to take that new found knowledge and want to share it immediately so that it can have the same type of impact on others. Naturally, friends and family are the first to hear what they have learned. At times that enthusiastic application of Scripture to others’ lives turns into premature passage of judgment and can cause unnecessary conflict in the process. That’s not to say we should not judge the lives of others, at all. The Bible clearly calls for believers to apply God’s standards to ourselves and others (e.g. 2 Corinthians 13:5, Matthew 7:16, John 7:24). But it also tells us to be careful how we do it.

Wise discernment starts with fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7). Those who do not take heed of their place before God will surely not show humility before others, revealing their foolishness. One cannot hope to judge others in a biblical manner without a biblical measure of humility. Pride exists where humility is absent. When applied to judging others, said pride can manifests itself through self-righteousness, detracting for whatever godly intent a person may have had. Pride can also keep us focused on ourselves and not on the other person’s situation, effectively blinding our spiritual eyes or at the very least, limiting our field of vision. When we are too focused on our own righteousness, we cannot give our full attention to another person’s situation. In general, we shouldn’t think too highly of ourselves (Romans 12:3) but especially when examining the lives of others. It would be ideal for a person’s humility to grow in direct proportion to their growth in knowledge but with young believers, that isn’t always easy. There is a reason the Apostle Peter specifically calls out “you who are younger” to be humble when exhorting the church (1 Peter 5:5).

Christ himself warns us to be careful in the Sermon on the Mount. In the 7th chapter of Matthew we see his warning:

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Before we begin to look at the deficiencies in the life of another, we need to make sure we don’t have any issues that can blind our judgment and make us look like hypocrites.

Another danger for collegians to consider is their own relative inexperience. Not having a broad base of experience–both blessings and trials–puts a younger person at a disadvantage when trying to fully grasp another person’s situations. This relative lack of experience means that a younger person is more likely to be limited in their ability to see all the possible reasons for someone else’s behavior, thus likelihood of misunderstand another person’s situation is greater. As a person gets older and goes through more in life, they have a greater pool of experiences to reference when carefully examining another person’s life.

Ultimately, when judging others, as in all things, it needs to be done in love. Without it we are merely “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13 describes the love that we are called to have. Examine whether or not your good intentions line up with the description of love in that chapter. If not, perhaps your intentions are not motivated by God’s love. We have to remember that God is the final and true judge to whom we will all answer to for our actions and words (2 Corinthians 5:10). He knows the intentions of our hearts better than we do. It would be wise to pray for his assistance in such matters, asking for our will to be aligned with his.

If you are convinced that your heart is in the right place to judge another, even then we need to proceed with caution. It can be easy to take in a lot of information and regurgitate it to someone and say, “Don’t you know that the Bible says…” but we forget that it also says, “… let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak…” (James 1:19). James warns us to not be so eager to teach others because doing so can have far reaching consequences (James 3). I have witnessed many instances of harsh judgment that have occurred over the years. Most were well-meaning and began with good intentions, but due to a lack of discernment, the judgment often did more harm than good, oftentimes resulting in a broken relationship. I’m sure that was not the intent.

by Stephen Rodgers

We have a number of new collegians this year, so some of you might have missed this article when it came around the first time.

Enjoy!

by Hansol An

As the school year begins, and with it the college football season, I’ve noticed a few teams using the slogan, “We Are…” followed by their school’s name or mascot. SDSU and USC come to mind but I’m sure there are others (schools tend to copy one another). The intent is to bring unity and solidarity to the fan bases of these schools with a short, memorable slogan that embraces being identified primarily as an Aztec, Trojan, etc. But having your identity defined by your support for a team has limited real-life value – bragging rights aside. Though many fan(atic)s are deeply committed to their teams, how important is it really in the grand scheme of things? For Christians, our identity is in Christ (Gal 2:20). As a believer we are a member of Christ’s body the church. We shouldn’t forsake the assembling, as the author of Hebrews warns. We and should be actively using our gifts to minister to one another within the context of the local church.

At Lighthouse, we have many things to look forward to as the fall season begins. Since our calendar year is predominantly scheduled around the traditional fall-to-spring school year, many of our ministries start up again during this time. Second Hour classes, GraceLife, LKC and Flocks are all back from the summer break. But for many, one of the most anticipated aspects of the start of a “new year” is the return of the collegians that were away on break and the barrage of new visitors from the local colleges.

From the beginning, LBC has always been a church that has been equipped to minister to collegians. When the church first started, about a third of the regular attenders were collegians. That has stayed fairly consistent throughout the past 14 years as the church has grown. God has allowed us to reach the campuses by supply many youthful members not too far removed from their own college days, who have a desire to minister to the collegians. But where many churches will segregate collegians from the rest of the church, the leaders of LBC have recognized that there’s no reason for that. There is no special designation for collegians because they are in a more transitory stage of life. LBC has always endeavored to treat collegians as adults, with the rights and responsibilities of being full members in the church. We understand that there are unique aspects of college life but there is no less a responsibility to be active in the church for a collegian, than a single adult or married person. If anything, this stage of life allows the most liberty and flexibility, which in theory should translate into more participation, not less.

Collegians should be challenged by their calling as Christian adults to be a faithful part of Christ’s body, not later but now. Everyone is important and God commands us to minister to one another. So consider how you’ll be a part of the local body this year. Get involved. Whether it’s LBC or another church, being present is half the battle. Collegian or not, we should show the world our identity in Christ through our service to his body. Maybe churches should adopt the slogan too. WE ARE LBC!

by Hansol An

Recent events and conversations I’ve had have made me think that it might be a good time to discuss dating again. I gave a message on dating last year so some of what follows may be familiar to some but I thought it was time for a refresher.

The way the world defines love and the way the Bible defines love are diametrically opposed to one another. The world would have you believe that love is the fulfillment of your desires for intimacy, both emotional and physical. On the emotional side are feelings of euphoria, happiness, satisfaction, ecstasy, and excitement. When someone in a movie or on TV says “I love you,” aren’t they really saying “I love the way you make me feel right now?” But these feeling are often temporary or at the very least, understood to be conditional and subject to change. That’s why people say they can fall in and out of love. On the physical side we know that the world is often referring to sexual pleasure or passion. The term “making love” is very revealing of the way the world views love, basically reducing it to mean the same thing as having sex. The word “LOVE” is used too loosely in today’s culture. That’s why people date. They want this kind of love, all or in part, but only until it doesn’t suit their desires any more. Then they look for love in the next person. This pursuit of love is what we commonly refer to as dating.

The way that the Bible defines love, or God’ definition of love is clearly different. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a says,

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

Does that sound like the world’s definition? Does it say anything about your feelings? Does it say anything about your sexual fulfillment? The difference is that the world’s definition of love is all about satisfying selfish desires. God’s definition is sacrificial and puts your feelings aside for the sake of others and God’s glory. Jesus was the ultimate example for us to follow.

The world tells us that love is fleeting. You can fall in love and out of love very quickly. So if you’re in a dating relationship and you’re no longer in love with them, then dump them and move on. Who cares how many times you’ve said “I love you?” Who cares how many times you’ve kissed that person? Who cares? God cares because his Word says that love never ends. What does that tell us about the couple who proclaims to love each other, then breaks up? Was that really love? They probably genuinely felt something but only so long as it was convenient to them. Did their love bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things? Did their love never end?

We need to change the way we view dating and its goal of finding “love.” This can be challenging because dating is non-biblical, meaning it’s not explicitly mentioned in the Bible. So what should we do? As a believer how do we determine the goal of dating? Is it marriage? Yes, it is the vehicle in which most Christians pursue marriage, but we have to remember that whether it’s dating or marriage or anything else, God’s glory is always our primary purpose! We as Christians should not date for our own emotional or physical fulfillment, but to pursue the goal of God’s glory and His intention for a man and a woman: marriage.

If marriage truly is the goal of dating one should be ready for, or reasonably close to being ready for, marriage. As mentioned before, dating is not specifically addressed in the Bible, so no one can tell another how ready they have to be to date. No one can tell another how long the dating period should be. But marriage is addressed in the Bible and if marriage is the goal and not dating itself, it stand to reason that dating should be minimized. It shouldn’t be prolonged longer than necessary to confirm that marriage should be pursued between a particular couple. The longer a couple dates the natural inclination will be to begin to act like a married couple in emotional attachment, in physical expressions and in other ways. The danger is that the couple will give too much of themselves to each other, when they might not end up getting married. Until a commitment in made, there are no guarantees.

So the question you need to answer is: Are you ready, and mature enough as a believer, to fulfill your role as a husband or wife? Are you ready to forsake all others? Ladies, are you ready to submit your life to a man? Guys, are you ready to love a woman as Christ loved the church? These questions should be examined and carefully considered along with other biblical responsibilities of marriage before dating is even considered. Dating is a choice and ultimately, so is love. There must be a conscious consideration of what is required before entering into a relationship with the goal of marriage in mind. We are called to be set apart from the world and dating is one area where we can practice our distinctiveness in Christ.

by Hansol An

Growing up, my understanding of God’s grace was somewhat skewed. I understood that God loved me and that he sent Jesus to die for me. I understood that as a result of what he did, I was supposed to stop doing bad things and only do good things. But if I did bad things it would be okay because God would forgive me. I presumed that God would always forgive me no matter how sinfully I lived. I could live as I wanted, ask God for forgiveness later, and be assured of my salvation. In essence, what I thought I had was a license to get away with all the ‘fun stuff’ and still get into heaven! In my arrogance I presumed that God needed to forgive me since I was following the system; sin, pray for forgiveness, be forgiven, repeat. Later, I realized that this understanding of God’s grace was incongruent with the gospel message as it cheapened God’s grace and took God for granted.

But there is nothing new under the sun. The Bible gives plenty of examples of people presuming upon God. In Numbers 14, Israel, being distraught over a bad report from the 10 spies, decides to disobey God and not enter into the Promised Land as God had commanded. When Moses tells them of God’s judgment because of their disobedience, they “repent”. Presuming that God would honor their admittance of sin, they decide to enter the land as originally instructed. But by then, God was not with them and they were defeated by their enemies.

In Jeremiah 7, the prophet Jeremiah is warning Judah that their idolatry will be judged by God and that they need to repent in order to be saved. But they made the Temple into “a den of robbers,” a safe haven from God’s judgment no matter how sinfully they lived. Judah presumed that God’s judgment would never extend to His own Temple and so they would be safe in Jerusalem.

This type of presumption upon the Lord can also be seen in the New Testament. In Matthew 3, John the Baptist calls out the Pharisees and Sadducees for their superficial religiosity and misplaced hope in their ancestry. John explains to them that their sinful hearts were not going to be overlooked simply because they were sons of Abraham. True decedents of Abraham need to share his extraordinary faith.

Paul warns the Romans not to presume upon God’s grace in Romans 2. He tells them that judging another person’s sins, while committing the same sins, invites God’s judgment upon the one who is judging. He goes on to explain that for them to “presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience” is the opposite of what God desires: repentance.

In all four examples we see people’s presuming upon God’s grace, using it as an excuse to sin rather than a motivation for true repentance. They were living in a form of cheap grace and continual sin which Paul addresses in Romans 6. In that chapter, Paul, anticipating the arguments from the religious establishment against salvation by grace alone, unequivocally denounces the idea that one can be saved and keep on living a sinful life. In verses 1 and 2 he states, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” And again in verse 15 he says, “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”

The Bible is clear that we serve a loving, gracious and merciful God, but that doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want without consequence. In order to avoid the trap of presuming upon God’s grace, Christians must live a life that shows Christ to be Lord as well as Savior. Through Scripture we can know God and his will for us. Failing to show evidence of a changed heart through an obedient life will result in unwelcome consequences. Christ himself said in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

The people in the above examples were not going to be saved by their admission of guilt, proximity to God’s house, birthright or misguided understanding of God’s kindness. True salvation comes from an accurate understanding of the cost required to save and the cost required to be saved. Those who are saved will exhibit a changed heart that loves God, which in turn results in a holy life (John 14:15).

by Justin Li

What is “successful” ministry? Is it running a VBS with well-behaved children, going out to campus evangelism with a conversion resulting every time, and reading our Bibles every day? All those examples above are good but not necessarily how God would define success. The world evaluates success and worth by what they have or say they can accomplish. Even as Christians this type of thinking is pervasive. As we delve in God’s Word we see this type of thinking stems from a lack of fear of God and His Word.

“Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:7-8)

Joshua lived a life of obedience, faith and dependence on God proving that a life of obedience to God and His Word bears great rewards and blessings. Of the 12 spies sent to Canaan, only Joshua and Caleb trusted God, returned and were the only two to enter the promised land. Furthermore, Joshua served as a faithful aide to Moses for 40 years and he was the one to ultimately lead the Israelites to the promised land, not Moses. Joshua trusted in the strength and promises of God despite the uncertainty of the challenging paths to come. But no more clearly do we see Joshua’s faithfulness than at the end of the book where he urges the people to forsake their idols and remain faithful in the covenant that God made with them at Sinai, saying, “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods of your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

We see from the example of Joshua that God’s definition of success is not necessarily defined by the direct fruits that you see from your work, but in our FAITHFULNESS in what we have been called to do.

Oftentimes we focus on how well we measure up to the world’s standards of success and forget to concern ourselves with our ability to stay faithful to God’s Word in everything that we do, regardless of the outcome. In The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) we see that both the man that was given five talents and the man with two received exactly the same reward, indicating that the master’s grading system is based on faithfulness and NOT results (v23). However, we see that the unfaithful servant was dealt with harshly and called wicked and slothful. This means as students it does not matter whether we have a 2.0 or a 4.0 GPA if we were faithful in the stewardship of what we have been called to do. What good is the slothful student with a 4.0 to God if he spent the entire time studying while ignoring his quiet times with God and church events, while constantly being anxious the entire time? Rather, God is pleased with the faithful student who truly values what the Word of God has to say. The world demands results. What God demands is faithfulness. Whose grading system will you use today?

This flows into every other area in our life as well. For campus evangelism, what matters is our faithfulness in proclaiming the power of the Gospel boldly, not conversion (Romans 1:16). For parenting, what matters is faithfully teaching our children the Word of God every opportunity that you get, not necessarily salvation. For the upcoming Mission Bowl tournament, what matters is faithfully being ambassadors of Christ on the football field. Like the Hebrew midwives who feared God, what God has to say should take precedence over whatever anyone else says (Exodus 1). God looks at the one who trembles at His Word (Isaiah 66:2-3).

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecc 1:13-14)

At the end of the day, what are we most concerned with? Take some time to think about it. We see God defines success in our faithfulness in what we have been called to do. I can’t wait until the day when we can see Him as he is and hope to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”

We can do no more. We must do no less.

by Hansol An

As the football season comes to a close, I’m reminded of a phrase that became very popular over the course of the season, to the point that it almost became a cliché. The phrase “next man up” has been around for a while but it really seemed to come into vogue this year. Whenever a player went down with an injury, there was a coach or sportscaster close behind wielding this most apt and realistic solution to an unwanted situation. In football there is a real and immediate need to move on. Not only must the show go on, it must go on right now – “So who you got to replace your MVP?” There’s no sympathy from the other team that you lost your best player. The scoreboard doesn’t care that the heart and soul of your team is out for the rest of the season.

I’ve said before that in some ways, a football team is analogous to a church. As with a church, every member of the football team has an important part to play. Teamwork is critically important in football. For a team to succeed its players have to fulfill their individual roles during each and every play. One player neglecting to fulfill their role would seriously hinder the ability of the team to succeed. The same could be said for a church.

The ‘next man up’ philosophy seems to carry over to the church analogy as well. As Lighthouse Bible Church prepares for its third church plant in three years, its members are well acquainted with the idea that when someone leaves, another member has to be ready and able to takes their place. For all intents, it is expected that someone will be the next man (or woman) up. For some roles there is a person identified long before the need arises, but for many there isn’t a clear successor. But as our church has always endeavored to lead by the Word of God, the members have been taught to be servants first, and we’ve been fortunate to have many willing servants over the years.

Christ taught his disciples to emulate him as a servant (John 13:12-15). Paul reminded the Philippians to regard others as more important (Philippians 2:3-4). We all have to be reminded of our duty as a member of Christ’s church to serve one another. Sometimes in ways that are personally challenging and require self-sacrifice but if ever there was a worthy cause, it is the love of Christ. Since we know that as a church we need to do the work of spreading the Gospel, when a need arises, many should be willing to fill it.

At a smaller scale, College Life regularly has to replace servants due to graduation. Thankfully this ministry has always included heavy student involvement but that also means that most people only serve a year or two before they have to move on. The staff doesn’t take this for granted even as the students continue to raise the bar year after year. We know that service in any ministry can’t be forced, each believer should be challenged by the example of Christ to serve others the way he did: in loving sacrifice. Sometimes that means serving in unofficial ways like providing rides or encouraging a friend, going out to Campus EV, or Morning Prayer. If we all do our part, this ministry will continue to successfully fulfill our calling in this life and further the Gospel of Christ. So be ready to step in when the time comes.

by Hansol An

Pastor John Kim once illustrated the importance of having a big picture view of life and the decisions that we make. On a white board he drew a horizontal line with arrows pointing out at each end. “This is all of time,” he proclaimed as he gestured back and forth along the line. Then, in the middle of the line, he drew a small dot and said, “This is your life.” He went on to explain that God wants us to have an eternal perspective of life since our lives on earth are so short in the grand scheme of eternity. He went on to say that our decision making process should take eternal ramifications into consideration. “Live for the line, not the dot,” he said. That was such a simple but profound principle that stuck with me ever since, changing the way I approached every decision I made.

Colossians 3:1-3 says, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Paul understood that having a heavenly perspective in life is part and parcel with being a Christian. It’s fundamental, not optional. If we fulfill the criteria he set forth in the beginning and ending of those verses (died and raised with Christ), then this applies to us. As Christians this is a command that God fully expects us to carry out.

Unlike other, more tangible imperatives, this requires more from us than just an outward action. This requires a wholesale change in the way we think. We are to “seek the things that are above” or those things that are eternal and not the “things that are on earth” or temporal. When we evaluate anything in life, we need to look at it from God’s point of view. We don’t have the benefit of omniscience, like God, but that’s why He gave us the Bible. Obviously, explicit detail is not given for every situation that we’ll face but the foundational instructions given to us through Scripture provides the principles we need for every situation, event or decision. The Word of God is all we need (Psalm 19:7-9).

When we forget to view things from God’s perspective, we tend to get shortsighted and temporal in our thinking. The world we live in seeks immediate gratification instead of the future fruits of prudence today. This results in limiting our consideration to the immediate benefits and consequences, when in reality there may be ramifications for years to come.

One area where this is exhibited over and over again is dating. Guys will often say that they “like” a girl and that they are going to ask her out. But when probed about why they like that particular girl, the answers usually reveal that thought has only been given to what she is like now. She serves in this ministry and that ministry. She’s kind, fun and smells good. She doesn’t run away when I come into the room. All are good reasons but rarely is there consideration for what all that means in the long run. Her service in ministry might reveal a heart that puts others before herself. Her kindness might exhibit the unselfish love necessary for a godly wife. Her fun attitude might show that she truly is joyful always. Her ability to maintain good hygiene would be desirable for wife and mom. The fact that she can stand your presence might show mercy. These are biblical attributes that are desirable for a godly wife. If dating is for marriage, shouldn’t every potential girlfriend be evaluated on her potential to be a god-honoring wife and mother? This is one example and there is so much more to consider even within this one example but the issue remains whether or not we have a temporal or eternal perspective.

There are many benefits to living for the line and not the dot but perhaps the most important one is that we don’t focus on the immediate rewards and consequences but also consider the long term, even eternal implications. One way to challenge our perspective is to ask and consider, “How does my decision affect the Great Commission?” Because what we believe is determined not by what we say but rather by what we do, everything we do reveals what we truly believe (James 1:22-25). What you do now has implications for years to come – live for the line, not the dot so that God would be glorified through every decision you make.

Editor’s Note: The original “live for the line, not the dot” quote should be attributed to Randy Alcorn (from his book The Treasure Principle).

by Hansol An

As in past years, the 2012-2013 school year has started off at a full sprint. Since SDSU’s school year started a little over two months ago, we’ve had six bible studies, tabling on two campuses, a luau, campus evangelism every weekday at UCSD, an equipping event, and office hours. That is all outside of the enumerable hours spent fellowshipping and studying together outside of official College Life events. Though things have slowed down a bit recently the ministry continues on at a brisk pace.

Friday night bible studies remain the primary vehicle of teaching and fellowship in this ministry but the great thing about College Life is that it goes beyond one night a week. As the staff has imparted to the students, College Life, like every other affinity group, is an integral part of the church body. The students have done a tremendous job of living out this fact. It can be easy for collegians to isolate themselves as a group from the rest of the church but that has not happened. In nearly every ministry at church you can find a collegian serving. As they meet with families and single adults outside of Sundays, you can see their heart for the rest of the church.

Characteristic of this ministry in recent years, and continuing into this year, is its consistency in living out what they are taught from the pulpit and in small groups. Whether it’s their desire to conduct campus evangelism, their thoughtfulness in remembering a friend’s birthday, or their inclusiveness in informal hangouts, this group continues to “shine the light.” There is a level of maturity that this group consistently displays not often seen in 18 to 22 year olds. They belie the cultural norm of delayed adolescence and glorified immaturity that, in turn, reveals a teachable and humble heart.

But even with all their many admirable attributes, they are not perfect and have room for growth. As a staff, our charge is to challenge, encourage and guide them down the path of biblical growth that leads to even greater maturity and Godlier thinking. During bibles studies this year we are going through 1 John, a book that challenges each of them to examine the evidence of saving faith displayed in their lives. In small groups the ladies are going through Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild and the men are reading What Every Man Wishes His Father Had Told Him. Each book was chosen for its practical wisdom aimed specifically at young adults immersed in a culture that tells them to run from God. We hope that this ministry can pace them as they run the race for God.

by Hansol An

Every four years the world comes together to celebrate the pinnacle of athletic achievement. The athletes that compete in the Olympic Games devote their lives to the pursuit of a gold medal. Most of the US Women’s Gymnastics team that won gold in this summer’s Olympic Games started gymnastics at age 2 or 3. Once an exercise class evolves into serious competition, the commitment increases significantly. A family moving for the sake of one child’s training is not uncommon. At 14 years old, Gabby Douglas moved away from her family to train with a sought-after coach. Yet most Olympic hopefuls are not able to realize their goal of winning an Olympic gold medal. A small percentage wins a gold medal (less than 6% won at least one gold medal) but the vast majority walks away empty-handed. Most everyone in the world admires this level of dedication because it can result in exclusive personal glory.

College students can relate to dedication, though maybe to a lesser degree. Many strive for years, studying for thousands of hours to excel in academics in an attempt gain entrance into a “good” college. Then, the fortunate ones get to spend 4 (or more) years in college to get a piece of paper that confirms their dedication.

Gold medal or diploma, in both instances the achievement is finite. The Apostle Paul made reference to the perishable wreath that the world awards us in 1 Corinthians 9:25. In contrast, Christian devotion results in an imperishable wreath: everlasting life in the presence God. Yet, in America, it seems as though Christians live lives that are far cries from being characterized as devoted to the imperishable wreath. For college students in America the challenge can be even greater.

Dictionary.com defines devotion as a “profound dedication; consecration; earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc.” In order for that level of commitment to be attained a person has to be focused on the object of that commitment. Collegians experiencing freedom from parental oversight for the first time are exposed to a litany of distractions vying for their attention. There is a seemingly endless supply of distractions for today’s college students but the standard remains the same as in Paul’s day. God wants our complete and undivided devotion.

Christ himself demanded nothing less than everything. In Matthew 16:24 Jesus tells his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” His audience understood the seriousness of those words. The cross represented humiliation, violence and death. Christ equated devotion to him, to death! No one does that. But that’s what God wanted for his disciples then, and that’s what is required of us today. Our devotion to the Lord should make our attachment to everything else seem like hate. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple,” Jesus said in Luke 14:26. Does our devotion match Christ’s expectations?

We need to be honest with ourselves and to God. He already knows the truth in our heart but we still need to openly confess our misplaced devotion to the pursuit of perishable wreaths and live lives with a singular focus on him. “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24). What are your time, talent and money pursuing? The answer to that question will reveal the object of your devotion. God gave us examples of extraordinary devotion throughout the Bible (God and Israel, Hosea and Gomer, the Disciples, etc.) but the best example He gave us was His Son. As the new school year begins, let’s be devoted to the one who perfectly denied himself.