Are we a Christian school just because we conform to Christian norms? Or are we genuinely Christian? Going to chapel and taking Bible classes could be considered “rules” of religious schools. However, living in a Christian environment will not necessarily convert us spiritually.
I recently talked to some Harding graduates who have stayed faithful and some who have not. A truly Christian school does not only deal with external rules and requirements, but also with inner spiritual change. These students who did not stay faithful had something missing from their spiritual lives.
Two years ago, I took New Testament Bible to fulfill a Harding requirement. I noticed that one of my good friends always stayed after class because he had questions about Scriptures. Although he seemed to know more about the Bible than I did, he had many questions. This confused me. I would think, “All of our lecture notes are on Pipeline. What kind of questions could he have?” But after watching my friend, I realized that I treated Bible class solely as a class I had to take to graduate. To me, Bible class was two credit hours that could hurt my GPA if I did not get an “A.” However, witnessing my friend’s desire to know more about God, I realized Bible class is not just another class. It was the class where I learned about God. It was where God brought me closer to him in order to understand his will. Now, instead of only studying lecture notes, I read the Bible more closely, ask questions like my friend did, and study the Scriptures diligently with my Bible professors.
I recently experienced another situation that helped me grow spiritually. One Sunday afternoon, a friend and I met someone who was a fellow Christian. During our conversation, he mentioned how he could not find a job, afford food or afford shoes. While I was thinking about how I could help him, my friend saw the urgency and took action. He asked the man what size shoes he wore, and then he took off his own shoes and put them on the man’s feet. My friend’s humble action reminded me of 1 John 3:18, “Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. ” Through my friend’s actions, God reminded me that love is an action verb.
These two students blessed me by showing me how to deepen my relationship with God and put my beliefs into action. However, not all students live this way. Many students at Harding assume that attending a Christian university will maintain their strong faith because they are immersed in a Christian environment. Some of these students fall away when they graduate, due to the surface-level faith that results from this assumption. My hope is that in the future, all students will learn to have a faith like that of my two friends. Their faith is the kind of faith that lasts through all trials.
