It is now becoming a tradition that each year I write up the talks from the Transforming the Mind conference so a larger group of people can benefit from them. This year, we had three speakers. Today I’ll tell you about the final talk of the conference, and there will be two more installments over the next month or so. Maithrie White, the conference chair, talked about ‘Christian mind under renewal’.
What motivates you to commit years of your life to studying? What is your calling in the university? What is your calling in the world?
On this blog, we often talk about our ‘calling’ as Christian scholars. These are important questions that I hope you have thought about at least briefly before starting your degree. And it is helpful to return to these questions regularly. After all, most of the world around us does not think about pursuing studies in terms of a calling. But as Christian scholars, what should motivate us to study is not just love for the subject or a desire for an academic career (although these are also important and good). As humans, we are called to be God’s image in the world. We are co-workers with God, and He loves all of his world.
The university can be holy ground if we worship God there by studying what He has made.
But what does it actually mean to live out that universal human calling in the university? What is God asking us to do?
1. Develop a Christian mind. God is calling us to ‘be transformed by the renewal of your mind’ (Rom. 12:2). Like Jesus in the transfiguration, we are called to reflect the love of God to the people and the world around us. We are called to have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), to see the world from God’s perspective. We do this by engaging deeply with Scripture, and by seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Note that we are active in this: Paul doesn’t say ‘let Christ transform you’, but he uses imperatives: ‘do not be conformed… be transformed’. Christ works in us, but we are not completely passive.
2. Dialogue with the university. God calls his people to be a people of truth and justice (Micah 6:8), who speak prophetically to the surrounding culture. Let us hold fast to God’s vision for our world passionately. A world where justice rolls on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream (Amos 5:24). ‘God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ (…) gave us the ministry of reconciliation: (…) God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ’ (2 Cor. 5:18-19). God is calling us to be part of this process of reconciliation! It is a privilege to study. But do you ever ask yourself what you will give back to the world? And I don’t just mean ‘impact’ – although that is part of it. Whom can you serve through your calling as a scholar?
These questions are certainly worth pondering regularly. Let us in humility respond to God’s calling on our lives, serving his purposes as we study.
- Evolution and epistemic humility - January 14, 2019
- Jesus, virtue and the university - September 4, 2017
- Welcome to the University of Babylon! - August 21, 2017
