Dear Bellefield Family,

I remember a final exam week during my undergraduate studies when I felt particularly exhausted and stressed and overwhelmed. During a study break, I took some time to pray and read Scripture. I came across Ecclesiastes 12:12, which says, "Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh" and I laughed because of yet another example of how "there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). 

Is this verse saying that academic pursuits are merely an exercise in exhaustion? No; it's not a blanket critique of rigorous study, expansive research, or the life of the mind. Rather, like the rest of Ecclesiastes, it's a comment on the futility of devoting ourselves entirely to things that are not meant to bear the weight of ultimate purpose.

Throughout Ecclesiastes, we are reminded of what we know to be true from our own experiences: power, possessions, and pleasure are fleeting, and if our only goal in life is to acquire those things then we will one day be faced with the harsh truth that "all is vanity" and nothing "but a striving after wind" (1:2,17). 

Scripture presents us with a different calling as disciples of Jesus Christ. Paul put it like this: "Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17). Every area of life is a potential theater in which we can live as those who see God as the highest good. Followers of Christ should seek to engage the world around us in ways that reflect the God who creates, sustains, redeems, and restores. 

The university and medical communities that surround us (and to which many of you belong) are home to "many books" and "much study". If you have the opportunity and the aptitude to pursue those things then you should give it your best. But if you pursue them as the highest good and ultimate end in and of themselves then you will eventually find yourself weary from "striving after wind".

On the other hand, if you see your studies or your vocation as an avenue through which you can do good work that honors the Lord and blesses others then you will find yourself pursuing life as it was intended. In her famous essay, "Why Work?", the British novelist Dorothy Sayers wrote, "Let the church remember this: that every maker and worker is called to serve God in his profession or trade--not outside of it...The only Christian work is good work well done."

The Christian perspective on work is one that does not idolize or ignore the labors to which we are called. Instead, it aims for "good work well done" while doing "everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him". This Sunday, as part of our current sermon series, we'll further consider how the reality of a Risen Redeemer shapes the way we go about our work in this world.

Many of our students have already finished their semester and others are nearing their end, with faculty and administrators wrapping up later. I encourage you to pray for all those in the university communities as we near the summer break, and I encourage all of us to see our labors--whatever they may be--as opportunities to faithfully follow our living Lord Jesus.

Grace and peace,

Josh