I’m not long back from the University of Manchester CU’s weekend away, where some of us spent time thinking about what it means not to waste our lives at uni.

The big idea was pretty simple: the unwasted life is the one that magnifies Jesus (like Paul in Philippians 1:20-21, and Jesus in Matthew 6:33), and is made possible by the gospel (and we rampaged through Romans 3 to see this).  Then we started applying that to our daily lives … what does it look like to make Jesus look great in church life and in our living situations… and in our degrees?

How do you magnify Jesus in your studies?

I’ve started thinking about this 3 years too late, really, but I read something John Piper wrote (here) as I was preparing for the weekend, which opened my eyes to a whole vista of at-desk worship I’d never really contemplated…

‘Study to become and behold, not to be rich.’

What does he mean by that?  Lots of nice B-words, but what’s he getting at?  I think he’s saying this kind of thing (from earlier in the article):

[I]f you study math[s], you’re going to know God better. I promise you. As you advance through the complexities of math—from 5th grade to Calculus—you will find out things about the nature of the mind of God that you would not get any other way. It’s the same thing with the way language works. Same thing with processes in history. Same thing in politics and social studies. And art.

In other words, our work should lead us to worship.  Pretty much every degree involves studying creation in some way … and creation declares God’s glory (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20).  Therefore studying helps us to see God’s glory, and gives us fuel for worshipping him.

Every complex scientific phenomenon we study … God dreamed it up and brought it into being.  Every historical event we study … we’re seeing God at work in his wise providence.  Every bit of cutting-edge research into genes we get our heads around … God’s been enjoying it since the creation of the world, even though we just discovered it.  Every harmonic structure we pick apart, or soaring melody we enjoy … God wired us to be affected by.

So next time you’re struggling with an essay or lab report, rejoice that you’re getting to delve into and explain things that reveal our mighty God.    Let’s study to become worshippers, to behold God’s glory, not to store things up for ourselves.

Try it.  It might just change your life.