As we were unable to meet for Student Hub in March, we thought we would produce two blogs looking at the topic that we would have been covering.  This is the first part of two.

The chances are that we will all feel slightly different about the degrees we are studying – especially by this point in the academic year!  For some of you, studying your subject at university has been a dream for a long time.  Before I came to university, I’d dreamed about studying music since the age of 10, longing for my hobby outside of school to become my central focus.  So it was a dream come true when I rocked up in Nottingham to study music.  For others of you, your degree subject might have been chosen as more of a means to an end – the end being the job you hope to get.  Or perhaps it was more of a means to the end of simply gaining the ‘university experience’.  Whatever reason we chose our degree for and whatever our feelings may be towards it now, the majority of our time at university will be spent studying this subject and so it’s worth considering what God might think about it.

We may be tempted to believe the lie that our studies are unimportant to God or that He only cares about the time we spend reading the Bible, praying, evangelising, worshipping and doing other Christian activity.  But this is not true.  Abraham Kuyper famously said, ‘There is not one square inch of human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry: mine!’.  The whole of human life, including the subjects we study, belongs to Jesus.

If you looked through the Bible (even just the first four chapters), you would find a multitude of different subjects woven in and throughout Scripture.  We see astrophysics as God creates the sun, moon and stars; agriculture as Adam tends to the garden; sociology as God declares that ‘it is not good for man to be alone’ and makes a suitable helper for him; textiles as God creates clothes for Adam and Eve and music (of course) as we read about Jubal, the ‘father of all who played stringed instruments’.  Which other subjects can you find?

And yet, in those first few chapters in the Bible, we also see the pattern of creation, fall and redemption begin to be established.  As God brings order out of chaos and creates the world in all its original beauty and fullness, He creates a context for human flourishing.  Yet, as Adam and Eve rebel and sin, everything that was once good is tainted, damaged and broken.  But God was not satisfied with this and strove to find a way for humans to flourish once more – we see the pinnacle of this in his son Jesus as he dies on the cross in order to restore humanity to God.  As Christians, we are now called to join in God’s redemption work, as we usher in His Kingdom and restore a context for flourishing once more.  (You can see this better explained in this video by LICC).

So, how might we apply this pattern to the subjects we study?  How does your subject help people to flourish?  Music, for example, brings deep joy to many as they play it, listen to or dance to it.  The study of music itself can grow self-discipline and give people a way to express emotion and feeling.  How is your subject broken or fallen?  The study of music, for example, can breed a culture of jealousy or unhealthy competition and the music sector is a strange and often unjust place – with many barely getting by and others swimming in their success.  How could your subject be redemptive?  Music has often been noted for its therapeutic qualities, bringing a voice to those who may not have one, and can be used to strengthen community and unity (there’s a reason we all sing our worship at church and don’t just say it).  How could you apply these questions to your subject?

So why does our degree subject matter?  In simple terms, God created it and wants to use it as a means for human flourishing, in line with how he intended creation to be.  At this time of year, and with all the uncertainty about what the rest of this academic year might look like, it can be easy to feel like we have had enough of our degrees.  But, my prayer for you is that you will see your degree afresh through God’s eyes in this season – may this motivate and encourage you as you work at home.

FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

Taken from a wonderful list of questions put together by Dave Bish (Beeston Free Church)

• What is your attitude and ethic towards your study and work? How does being a Christian shape this?

• Where does your subject make you feel uncomfortable in your faith? And vice versa?

• How can you use your subject to frame the heart of the gospel?

• If everyone in the world who did your course / job disappeared tomorrow, what would happen?