My last winter break of college is almost over… I can hardly believe it! I’m entering my last semester at Cal, and I’ve been challenged to redirect my thinking away from “how to spend my time well” toward “how to invest my time well.” There are several lenses that I’ve been personally challenged to think through regarding investing my time and ways that I would love to challenge you too!
1. College is a gift of four years. The Lord has blessed us with the privilege of studying at Cal for four years, give or take a few semesters. Though I often think that I earned my way to Berkeley and that I deserve to study here, it’s actually all a gracious gift that the Lord has entrusted us with. As with other gifts, it is a rich opportunity that we have to use God’s gift in a way that is honoring to Him.
2. Stewardship. Because God has blessed us with the opportunity to be at Cal, I believe that we are to steward our time well. I believe that stewarding my personal time at Cal includes stewarding my resources, my mind, my classes, my relationships, and my time alone. I often find myself wasting time, and before I know it, I’ve spent an hour looking at my friend’s friend’s sister’s Facebook pictures (whom I’ve never met). It seems ridiculous when I write about it, but I know you’ve probably done it before too! Anyways, long story short, God has entrusted us with time at Cal, and we are to steward each part of it for His glory and purposes!
3. Be ready for Christ’s return. My scope has been limited to “these four years at Cal”, but a pastor recently caused me to alter my scope. After all, my purpose is not just to steward my time at Cal, but to steward my life. Why? Because we are to always be living in light of Christ’s return. We are to live with urgency and expectation of His return.
When the pastor who preached the sermon about living in light of Christ’s return, he ended by asking the question: If Christ returned today, would you be ready or would you be rushing to do things that He had called you to do? So my challenge for you (and for myself) is to pray and consider how you can best be investing your time in light of eternity and Christ’s return. First, think about how you can invest your final week at home. Then, think about your next semester at Cal. Lastly, think about your life. My hope is that you don’t see this as a duty, but a beautiful privilege of stewarding God’s gifts that He is allowing us to take part in!
Have a restful final week of break. I can’t wait to see you soon!
-Melissa
