It’s really startling to me that after 13 years, I’m finally at the tail end of my life as a student.
After studying for my PSLE, O-Levels and polytechnic diploma, I now wait to receive a piece of paper that would mark the end of my formal education.
Time seems to have drifted by in a breath of a moment, like a vapour. So much so that I’m left wondering: What have I done in all those years?
Speaking from my own experience, it can become very easy to lose yourself in the Singaporean Dream of having the perfect 300 PSLE score, 6-point O-Level and 4.0 GPA. But what’s that actually going to amount to?
Few would ask or even remember what grades you got during your time in school, but many will remember the person you were and the impact you had on their lives.
Now I’m not saying that grades are bad or that the certificate you’ve been working towards is useless. I’m saying, however, that your life is created for a profound destiny that was never meant to be defined by the letters “A”, “B” or “F”. We’re not made to be perfect grade machines; we’re created as human beings in God’s image with unique gifting and personalities to make a difference in people’s lives.
Put simply, you’re destined to leave an impact.
I think back to the example of Queen Esther in the Bible who was raised by her cousin and brought to the position of power, right at the time when her people were under immediate threat of genocide. Her cousin Mordecai could not have phrased her situation better than he did in Esther 4:14b: “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
Whether it’s on your classmates, teachers or even that cleaning aunty you helped that one time, in your own way, you can make an impression beyond your studies.
To my Christian friends still in school, you’re not just contending for personal impact in school – your school is your mission field.
Think about the school that God has placed you in: There must be still many within the 4 walls of your classroom who have yet to know the joy of being in a personal relationship with Jesus.
I used to wonder why God had put a particular classmate in my path as we didn’t get along very well back in secondary school. But sometime later, we reconnected by chance and I soon learnt that he was really interested in Christianity. Surprisingly, I was one of the few friends he wanted to catch up with to find out more about having a relationship with Jesus!
That made me more mindful of how I wanted to live my life. When I began tertiary education, I wanted to make my years count – not just in the grade sense, but also in a kingdom sense. I wanted to make a spiritual impact in Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
Don’t be a student who happens to be a Christian, be a Christian who happens to be a student!
The reason you go to school isn’t just for a paper; be a testimony of the goodness of God, so that all will come to know the God you serve!
You may not be a missionary in a foreign land, but you’re a missionary in your school. You may not be the next Billy Graham, but you’re called to share with that one friend in school.
You’re destined for so much more than your grades; you’ve been created to make an impact on your school! The question is: What kind of impact will you leave behind?
