If Jesus Were My Roommate
BY Julie bae
Every morning, I wake up at around 8 AM and get ready for the day.
I head to class alone, leaving behind my sleeping roommate.
I go about my day, from class to the dining hall, the library, and club meetings, not giving my roommate much thought until I see her again late in the evening.
We talk for a bit and share about our day before working on our respective homework assignments or heading off to sleep.
My roommate and I have a good relationship and enjoy spending quality time together, but on a typical busy day of work and studying, our interactions are passive and brief. Many might relate to this kind of relationship, and it’s okay—healthy, even—to not spend every waking moment with your roommates or friends. However, one relationship that should never look like this is our relationship with Christ. And yet, many of us Christians end up treating Jesus like He is just a roommate. Perhaps we do a morning devotional to “start our day off right,” only to leave the thought of Jesus behind in our homes. Then at night, we come back to Him in our tired prayers, seeking rest after a long day full of tireless work and empty endeavors.
This wearisome lifestyle is far from the life God intended for us. He designed us to draw our strength and hope from Him, “the bread of life” [1] and the living water (John 4:10), and to “keep in step with the Spirit.” [2] Jesus said in John 15, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” [3] As branches draw life from the vine they stem from, so do we thrive in our spirits through Christ. The moment we try to live apart from Him and carry out our busy lives alone, we wither.
We need God more than we need the breath in our lungs, and that in itself is more than enough of a reason to put Him at the center of our lives. But beyond that, we should live our lives as an offering to Him because He is worthy. Everything we do should exalt Him and further His Kingdom. That’s why Paul says in Galatians: “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” [4] Even with all the accomplishments we may achieve as Ivy League students, we should be using them to honor our King because He is the one who enables us to do all these things in the first place. As the song “Alabaster Jar” beautifully puts it, “This time that I have left is all I have of worth / I lay it at your feet, Lord, it’s less than you deserve.” [5] This is the declaration that should be on our hearts everyday.
As busy college students living in a broken, sinful world, it can be so difficult following God in every moment of the day and keeping Christ close to our hearts. However, the more I try, the more I find how rewarding it is to spend my life with Jesus. Though I constantly fall short and have many days when I treat Jesus like a roommate, His mercies are new every morning and He calls me back to Him every time with His boundless grace. He is calling you, too, and He wants you to feel the life that He will breathe into you when you start to go past the bare minimum of going to Sunday services and doing routine devotionals. Let the rushing wind of His presence move in your heart and let Him become more than just a roommate, or a friend. Let Him be Lord of your life.
SOURCES
[1] John 6:35
[2] Galatians 5:25
[3] John 15:5
[4] 1 Corinthians 10:31
[5] Walker Beach, "Alabaster Jar," performed by Gateway Worship, on Living for You, Integrity Music, 2006, streaming audio, Spotify.