In his letter to the twelve tribes of Israel, James emphasizes the importance of faith in connection to deeds: “You see that a person is justified by what they do and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). In saying this, James advocates an active faith life, not just a proclamation of devotion, but living out a life of following Christ.

When we choose to follow Christ and imitate his life, we make a decision to do this in every aspect of our daily existence, not just in situations that we consider more God-focused.

As students, we need to put Christ first in all parts of our academic careers, on and off campus. This means applying ourselves to the best of our abilities in our studies. In doing so, we will be committing our work to Him, which I strongly believe is a form of worship and a way to praise our Creator.

We were not put on Earth to be passive onlookers, but to be actively involved with Creation, learning to understand and utilize the physical world around us in accordance with God’s plan. This does not mean that we need to attend university or college in order to appreciate and interact positively with God’s creation, but that academics give us the opportunity to pry deeper into our knowledge of the universe.

If we do not continually challenge our faith, we are in danger of losing it. While we can never fully comprehend all of God or his creation, we need to continually pursue this knowledge, just as we need to continually pursue a proper imitation of Christ.

This pursuit is unique to each person; personally, I want to challenge my faith in God to make it stronger and not allow it to atrophy.

In whatever part of life you find yourself, it is imperative that you do not allow your faith to weaken. Instead, test your faith and wrestle with your belief through academics, ministry or just solitary prayer. In all parts of your life, put
God first