Upon settling into your dorm or apartment, or just simply walking around campus, you can tell there have been many modifications to the campus while we all were away for the summer.
We now have a new high-tech building that houses the Robert K. Jabs School of Business. The parking lot in between the JoAnn Hawkins Music Building and the Cottages has been restored for commuters. The new recreation center’s construction seems to be moving along, and there seem to be more freshmen than ever before.
You also may have noticed quite a few revisions to this issue of The Banner, aside from the new adviser and editorial staff. We have brought back the Perspectives page; Vision is now one page; and we added the Etcetera page, which will house a calendar, Sudoku puzzles and LancerCam: Instagram photos submitted by you.
With any university, newspaper, business or person, there will always be changes as there is growth. Sometimes, the changes cause those encountering them to struggle, and others to jump hurdles like Olympic champions.
Change is such a common concept to people, and with students that word can be with them throughout their entire collegiate career.
As students enter college, some know exactly where they want to be while others’ desires may result in the changing of their major several times. But as time goes by, we grow, experience and learn.
Regardless of where we start, we all go through different motions of change. Whether it is physical, mental or spiritual, the outcome depends upon the person and the purpose that God has given them.
As students of California Baptist University, that well-known phrase “Live your Purpose” rings true. In college, we learn to shape and understand what our purpose is.
These changes make us the people we are meant to be as we live out God’s plan. He is the one aspect of our life that always remains constant, that never changes. Regardless of whether or not a person believes in him, he is there.
Hebrews 13:8 (NIV) says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Jesus Christ always stays the same, and his love for us never changes, regardless of what we do or say. Although we may change and stray near or far, he is always right there beside us in the good and bad times.
Sometimes we are faced with struggle or pain, and there are many who question him. “God, if you’re so good, why would you let this happen to me?” or “God, where have you gone?”
God does not leave us alone in these times of change, sorrow or suffering. He is the light in what can sometimes be a dark and lonely world, and these times are not to tear us down but rather to redefine us and help us grow as believers.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV) says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
The tools we pick up along the way help us in our future endeavors of finding our purposes and living them out.
You may feel as though God is not using you, but he could be using you in ways you cannot understand.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NIV) says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our trouble, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”
So as you see the changes around campus, in The Banner or even in yourself, do not be alarmed. We are working toward what God has planned for us — living our purpose.
