Choices. For the average college student, the choice is whether to attend class or to continue to study the affects that our head has on our pillow. Eventually we will get up and go to class, going through our days just doing our own thing. But what are we doing that is worthwhile throughout the day? Are we making a difference?

Church. School. Work. Friendships. Dating relationships. Family. These are areas that fill up our everyday lives. We live in a society that is constantly moving, constantly going—and wanting us to do the same thing. But have you ever stopped and wondered if anything more is out there, or if your sole purpose in life is to obtain knowledge, acquire stuff and then die? The truth is, there is something more, and His name is Jesus. If you are a Christian, then you know this already, but I wonder if you fully understand the responsibilities of being a follower of Jesus Christ.

You’ve heard about how Jesus came and died for you on the cross and then rose again so you could live for the rest of eternity with Him. You’ve asked Him to come into your heart and forgive you of all your sins. For some of you, it stopped there, and a personal relationship with God was never formed. For others, it was just the beginning—the beginning of an amazing relationship with God.

We try to live our lives for Him, but since we are human, our imperfect nature causes us to do things that damage our relationship with our Creator. We end up choosing to do what we want instead of listening to God. The things of the world take hold of our lives, and we allow them to control us, while we push God farther and farther away, only pulling Him close when we need something. When we don’t get what we ask for or what we want, we get upset and push God away again. This is not what it means to be a Christian.

To be a Christian means to be set apart from the world. It means to live a life that is pleasing to God, not one that uses God as a convenient way to get what we want. He has called us to be set apart, to be different and to follow His commandments. These are not easy tasks. The rules and commandments that have been given to us in the Bible are the things that we are to live by, but we break these commandments every day.

In Mark 12:28-34, Jesus is teaching the people, and a teacher of religious law asks, “Of all of the commandments, which is the most important?” This sounds like what we ask ourselves. People in general love the easy way out, and it seams that college students have mastered this trend of laziness. How hard can it be to follow one commandment? In verse 30 and 31, Jesus answers the teacher, “You must love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all your soul all your mind and all your strength. The second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.”

This is how to live a life for God: Love Him and love others. A life lived with love for God and love for others is what He commands us to do. In order to do this, we have to deny ourselves. We have to get over the “me” mentality. Our love for God and for others cannot take place while we are in love with ourselves.

In John 13, Jesus gives us the awesome example of how to put others first. During the Last Supper, Jesus washes the feet of His disciples. The significance of this is that the task of washing someone’s feet was reserved for the lowest of servants. Jesus, the Son of God, humbled Himself and became a servant to His disciples, showing them what they needed to do for others.

When talking to a group of college students, a pastor made this thought provoking statement: “Everything you own is either a tool or an idol! The things you have been given by God—money, car, video games—should be used as a tool to express love for Him and others.” If they are not used to His glory, then they are things that are selfish and stand in the way of your relationship with Him. God is calling us to sacrifice ourselves and live to serve Him and to serve others.