The spiritual disciplines for the Christian life are not reserved for the settled years of adulthood. They take root, or they do not, in the seasons that form everything that follows. Dustin Bruce, dean and professor at Boyce College, draws from Ephesians 5:15-17 to identify four habits that equip young men and women to walk carefully through the college years. He examines wisdom, time, the pursuit of God’s will, and Christian community as the practical substance of faithful living.
The following article is from our partner, Boyce College:
Why the College Years Are a Defining Season for Spiritual Growth
I still remember the bright spring day my oldest daughter asked to go on a walk through the neighborhood by herself. Our family had paced through our peaceful neighborhood too many times to count by that point, but my fatherly heart recognized this was something different. My daughter would be venturing into the world by herself, out of my watchful eye and direct guidance.
To make matters worse, I knew this was just one trifling example of the right but hard transition my daughter is in the midst of, one that will eventually result in her walking out of our house and onto a college campus. The goal, of course, is not to stop such “walks” that our children must inevitably take, but to teach them how to “walk carefully” as they emerge as young adults who leave our homes and venture into the larger neighborhood of college, then into life as adults.
The Bible often uses the metaphor of walking to describe how we live our lives. God tells Abraham in Genesis 17:1, “walk before me, and be blameless.” Psalm 119:1 reads, “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!” Jesus tells us in John 8:12, “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness.”
The Apostle Paul continues this prominent theme when he writes to the Ephesians, particularly in verses 5:15-17, instructing them to “look carefully then how you walk.” I have found this passage particularly helpful in guiding young men and women toward a careful walk through the college years.
Habit 1: Walk in Wisdom
At the heart of Paul’s instruction for walking carefully lies the encouragement to “walk, not as unwise, but as wise.” This first habit contrasts the reality that there are two ways for people to live, and therefore, two ways to live as a college student. In fact, our culture depicts the college years as a consequence-free opportunity to walk the path of foolishness. In truth, there is no such opportunity available at any point in life.
Walking wisely into and through college, however, goes much deeper than merely avoiding the trope of sowing wild oats in a dormitory. To spend four years accumulating knowledge, passing classes, and impressing professors, without ever becoming wise, is to grow into little more than an educated fool. Genuine wisdom requires putting knowledge to work in practical ways. We might ask, “What good is it to earn an A in Economics, but fail to manage one’s money?”
Read Cultivating Wisdom
Habit 2: Use Your Time Intentionally
It is no secret that we live in a distracted world. For college students, the opportunities to squander time are endless. Campuses are hives of activity that, when coupled with digital distractions, make using one’s time well quite difficult. For Paul, however, walking carefully involves “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:16.
While learning to use a calendar is key to success in college, Paul drives at something deeper here. Making the best use of time involves taking full advantage of the opportunities and faithfully executing on the responsibilities the Lord sets before us. A constantly distracted life results in apathetic mediocrity. College students ought to hear this as an urgent call. The years move fast, and once wasted, cannot be regained. Walking carefully requires ordering priorities and disciplining oneself to make the best use of this unique and strategic season.
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Habit 3: Seek to Understand the Will of the Lord
Ask any Christian college leader, and they will tell you that one of the most frequent conversation topics with students involves discerning the Lord’s will for their lives. Rightly so, for in Ephesians 5, Paul exhorts the careful walker to “understand what the will of the Lord is.” Understandably, students are desirous to gain the “Lord’s will” as they seek definitive answers to questions related to majors, careers, relationships, and more.
The challenge, of course, comes from the difficulty of gaining certainty of the Lord’s will in such matters of life direction. Deuteronomy 29:29 captures this challenge but also provides freeing direction for anxious students:
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
While it is impossible to know exactly the path our life will take, our primary concern ought to be following the Lord’s will as found in the Bible. Rather than focus on the secret things that reveal themselves only over the course of our lives, a life following the Lord’s will means living a life of moral integrity in conformity to the moral and spiritual truths found in Scripture.
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Habit 4: Invest in Christian Community
While Paul obviously was not writing with the temptations of a modern college student in mind, his exhortation to pursue the Spirit-filled life over drunken debauchery could not be more applicable. In my experience, this choice largely comes down to the type of community a student invests in. Walking carefully into and through college involves being in a community of believers who address “one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” and who live lives of thanksgiving and mutual submission before the Lord. At the most essential level, this means prioritizing church involvement and extends to Christian friendships within one’s campus community.
Often, for the first time, college students must take initiative to find and join a church apart from their family. While this can sometimes be intimidating, establishing a commitment to the church during the college years lays a foundation for lifelong church involvement. In a unique way, investing in Christian community during college pays dividends throughout adulthood. At Boyce College, that investment begins on day one, with a campus culture built around the local church and Christian fellowship.
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How a Classical Christian Education Prepares Students for These Habits
Students formed in a classical Christian education come to college with a foundation that makes these four habits more than abstract ideals. Classical education cultivates wisdom as a way of life, not merely as a measure of academic performance. It shapes students to treat time as a stewardship, to wrestle with deep questions of truth and vocation, and to understand faith as inseparable from learning. The same formation that trained them to memorize Scripture in the grammar years, reason through hard questions in the dialectic years, and articulate conviction in the rhetoric years has been, all along, preparation for the walk that begins when they leave home. Classical Conversations families have been building this foundation from the very beginning.
Explore how Classical Conversations equips the whole student for life and faith.
Walking Carefully
By the time my daughter took her first solo walk through the neighborhood, we had been preparing her to walk carefully over years of treading the path together. While I might have been watching nervously from the window, I had confidence that she knew the path and understood the dangers.
In a similar fashion, preparing our children for walking carefully through college starts well before they arrive on campus, as we impart biblical truth that will guide them as they venture out of our homes and into life and adulthood. At Boyce College, that preparation meets a community ready to walk alongside students through every season that follows.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are spiritual disciplines for the Christian life?
Spiritual disciplines are intentional habits, such as prayer, Bible reading, fasting, and worship, that help Christians grow in their relationship with God over time. They are not a means of earning favor but a means of remaining near to the One who gives life.
How can college students maintain their faith?
College students strengthen their faith by practicing four essential habits: walking in wisdom, using time intentionally, actively seeking to understand the will of the Lord, and investing in a local church and Christian community.
What does it mean to walk with God?
Walking with God means living in a continuous, dependent relationship with Him, seeking His will in daily decisions, growing in knowledge of Scripture, and staying connected to the body of Christ.
What scriptures talk about walking with God?
Key passages include Genesis 17:1, Psalm 119:1, John 8:12, and Ephesians 5:15-17. Each uses the metaphor of walking to describe a life lived in obedience, awareness, and dependence on God.
What does it mean to be intentional in your Christian walk?
Intentionality in the Christian life means making deliberate choices, with eternity in view, about how you spend your time, what community you invest in, and how you pursue God’s will as revealed in Scripture.
Dive into more resources on character and virtue development here:
- Dual Enrollment for Homeschoolers vs Concurrent Enrollment: Benefits, Options & How to Get Started
- Intentional Homeschooling: 5 Ways to Make Every Day Count in Your Homeschool Community
- The Challenge of Challenge: Mentoring Future Leaders
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