Many parents today are fixated on getting the kids into the right college, and perhaps for good reason. Going to school at the right place gives a young person a jumpstart in life. A degree from a recognized university, or one noted for expertise in a given area, paves the way to special opportunities.

However, getting their sons or daughters through the door of the school is not the ultimate goal of parents. Rather, it is seeing them develop through a good education so that they will be well qualified in their chosen field. Even if the school reputation enables the graduate to get a job, if the student did not take advantage of the education and develop the necessary set of skills, the boost given by a prestigious diploma will quickly run out of steam, and what began as a great prospect will end as a wasted opportunity.

Many students have kicked away such an opportunity. Arriving on campus, they are caught up by the social life or other distractions, and either flunk out or graduate with a low class standing and without a good grasp of their field. In fact, I find it sadly amusing that students in almost every college in the country envision their institution as “the biggest party school in America.”

Imagine the disappointment of a parent that has groomed his child for entrance into a prestigious university, worked to pry open the door, paid the big bucks for the tuition and cost-of-living, only to be rewarded with a halfhearted effort and blown opportunity.

Becoming a child of God is a lot like entrance into a major university. It provides us with a tremendous opportunity to develop the skills necessary to become like Jesus Christ. Our heavenly Father has planned and worked from before the creation of the world to get us into this great program. He also paid the tuition, the blood of His Son, to make our enrollment possible.

Our last post underscored that the primary interest of God is not our becoming believers, but our becoming like Christ. We included a few verses indicating that ultimately Christ died so that we might reflect His nature. God is not merely interested in our enrollment in His university program. His ultimate interest is to see us change through the opportunities the program offers.

However, just like many students showing up at college, believers can squander the opportunity of becoming like Christ afforded by this program. Just being at college is not enough to enable students to benefit from the program. They will not develop the necessary knowledge and skill by osmosis, by just being in the environment. It requires study and discipline. Likewise, realizing the benefit of being enrolled in God’s university also requires hard work and discipline.

Unfortunately, the contemporary evangelical campus is at least somewhat like a party school. It does not emphasize the need for serious effort and discipline for reaching the objective of becoming like Christ. In fact, such an emphasis is often viewed as legalism. Clichés such as, “Be patient, God isn’t finished with me yet,” convey that there’s plenty of time until graduation and no need to panic about hitting the books. In consequence, those attending the American evangelical campus are not progressing well toward Christ-likeness. They are effective, however, at writing letters to their Father asking for more money so that college can remain a fun experience.

What a tragedy to waste such a great opportunity that was bought at such a high price. If as earthly fathers we are disappointed when our children fail to make the most of their opportunities for which we have worked and paid dearly, how profound is the disappointment of our heavenly Father in our failure to do the work necessary to become like Christ? Maybe some of the faculty at this campus need to rework their lesson plans so that they are based on Scripture.