Dear Northwestern (and other private Christian colleges)

This post is written as a response to the UNW confessions page on facebook.

Dear Northwestern Students,
I appreciate your honesty, even if its' anonymous. Life can be hard, and there can be an unspoken pressure to meet an unachievable standard. You may be feeling the legalistic tendencies that circulate in conservative circles. The bar is set high - be happy, get good grades, have your life together, get a ring by spring, don't smoke, don't drink, do do drugs, don't have sex, be a republican, agree with conservative beliefs, and the list goes on.

First of all, I pray that you never feel like you have to be perfect. I pray that you realize that vulnerability and transparency are beautiful things. Where in the Bible does it say we won't struggle? (John 16:33; look at Paul's life in 2 Corinthians 11:16-33) Where does Jesus say life will be easy? (Luke 9:23-27) Where do we get the idea that we're supposed to be perfectly happy all the time? Our lives as Christians is a battle - there's a spiritual battle that's raging around us constantly. In America we tend to get pretty 'busy'. With all the things that are fighting for our attention, even good things, you don't have to try very hard to go days, even weeks without even thinking about God. Until we realize that we have to daily lay down our own desires and fight to desire God, we've already lost. (2 Corinthians 12)

That all being said, you will struggle. You will fall short. My prayer is that Northwestern can be a community of believers that come together and fight as the unified body of Christ.
My challenge is this: be real. If there's anything I've learned in the past few weeks, it's that there's a lot to be said about being real and open with people. Don't just say you're fine and paste on a smile, be real. That all said, there's a time and a place for this. I encourage you to find a few close friends of the same gender to confide in. That could be a professor you think is cool, a counselor, your roommate, your best friend, or really anyone on staff for that matter. You aren't alone. You are surrounded by people who genuinely want to care for you and help you grow. I know it can be scary to be that vulnerable with someone, but if you truly want to get better, get perspective, and grow - it needs to be done. When someone asks you how you're doing, don't be fake - but also, not everyone needs to hear every detail of your life. Be wise. (Romans 12:14-21)

Second, I think that as a school body we desperately need a heart check. I hear all the time that people don't pay attention in chapel. How many times do you see people sleeping or mindlessly scrolling twitter? I realize you're tired, stressed, bored, whatever. But my question is this - if you truly desire to pursue Christ and know Him more, don't you want to take every opportunity that's given to you to do that? We are given a sweet opportunity to listen to the work God is doing in peoples' lives, hear different perspectives, and learn truth daily. Why aren't we more excited about that? Why are we sleeping and refreshing our newsfeeds?
My challenge is this: check your heart. Is your heart hard? Are you cynical? Why aren't you listening?

Thirdly, this season is a fight to desire God. If you went to public high school, you know the daily struggle that comes from standing up for your faith. I remember daily having to rely on God for strength to stand up for what I believed in. At UNW, thankfully, that isn't the case. I'm extremely grateful for these years of being able to wholeheartedly pursue God without the constant attack from the world.
Now, while that's the case, there's also a tendency to be passive in our faith. Because we aren't constantly defending our beliefs, it can be easy to stop pursuing God completely. We're surrounded by so many spiritual things that it can be easy to forget to pursue our personal relationship with Christ, and that terrifies me.
No, your salvation does not depend on how often you pray, read your bible, or go to chapel. By no means. BUT - if you truly understand who our God is, you'll WANT to do those things. Honestly. Read Jeremiah 38-39. Look outside. We serve an AWESOME and POWERFUL God. If we understand even one bit who He is, our lives will look different. We'll want to learn more about Him. We'll want to talk to Him. We'll want to hear about Him. And we WILL bear fruit. True salvation is always accompanied by fruit, not because we're saved by the good things we do - but because we want to do those good things out of the overflow of our gratitude and love for Christ.
Ask yourself this: what, and who, am I living for? Where's my focus? What am I pursuing? Am I bearing fruit? (John 15)

Finally, let college be college. I just want to throw it out there that if you don't find your future spouse here, the world will not end. Pursue God. Breathe. Learn. Grow. Take this time to figure out the dreams and desires God has given you instead of frantically trying to attract the opposite sex. I don't know about you, but I'm not about wasting my life. I think pursuing God is a way better way to spend my time than trying to figure out if someone likes me. Not to say dating doesn't have its place, I'm just saying it shouldn't be our sole pursuit. Singleness isn't some sort of disease. Singleness isn't a punishment. Singleness is a beautiful season to pursue God wholeheartedly, learn who He's made you to be, and enjoy life. When else do we have this much time to get to know God's heart? Why are we so quick to waste our time 'waiting' for our future spouse? (more on this in another post I wrote earlier this semester)

All that to be said, we as a whole need to ask God to remind us more often of how blessed we are to go to a sweet school like Northwestern where we have the opportunity to learn more about our Creator daily without persecution. Praise God for this sweet gift of a season. When else will we be surrounded by a such a large body of believers in our age group? When else will we be able to walk down the hall, knock on any door, and talk about our Savior on such a deep level? When else can we pull a stranger aside and ask for prayer? I think we're too quick to complain about rules and regulations, and too slow to remember that we're here for a season - can't we just be grateful for the time we have here instead of complaining about vis hours and the doc?

Heart check: How's your attitude? What're you putting in front of God?

I hope in all of this you hear my heart - pursue God. Return to Him. Make War.

Resources:
If you haven't listened to this yet, you're crazy. It's awesome, free, and full of truth.
Read Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian. Seriously. Life changing.

Fearless Surrender

Dear Northwestern (and other private Christian colleges)

Aunica

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