Bear with me. I know the title is terribly cheesy, and Legos may be something too elementary from which to draw anything substantial. Legos are, however, powerfully universal and with close examination offer a beautiful illustration for a body of believers.

Legos are a tangible illustration of, or metaphor for, the different parts and pieces that can be assembled to build something splendid. Opening a box full of Legos, you will see several different colors and sizes, each containing a different number of stud notches. Each Lego is specifically designed, or, if you will, uniquely equipped, to complete a particular task and hold a special place in overall assemblage. Entering my senior year at Clemson University, I have had trouble discerning my role as a college student. In relation to the metaphor, I struggle to know which Lego I am or need to be. With hundreds of opportunities and experiences in front of me, it has been difficult to manage my time and energy well. What should I commit my time to? How much time should I spend studying, and should I prioritize my schoolwork over my relationships? How do I plug into the local church but also be where my feet are on campus?

It’s a challenge for all students to figure out what it looks like to work hard and glorify the Lord with their individual time. From peer to peer, college looks different for everyone. It’s like God dumped a pile of random Legos all over a college campus which are all capable of working towards different things. For example, one of my roommates sacrificed a roaring social life so that he could get into medical school. And the other, he invested endless hours into a number of on-campus organizations, definitely making a lasting impact upon lots of people. Like Legos, each person is unique and has a different number of stud notches, or things towards which they are capable of expending energy. It’s important to be receptive of these differences and to not compare ourselves to someone else who is “doing more’ and may appear more productive. There are things that a two notched green Lego can do that a six notched red Lego cannot do, and vice versa. Personally, it took some time, probably too much time, for me to figure out which kind of Lego I am, and in which project I would play a role.

“We, as followers of Christ, are called to move and are responsible to deploy the energy God has given us. We are called to be workers.”

Going into my sophomore year of college, I decided to rush a fraternity. With a clear mission in front of me, I saw an opportunity to be both salt and light in an environment that profoundly needed it. It’s not that I thought I planned to “save” the entire fraternity, but I knew God had entrusted me with certain gifts to lead and influence people, and I was trying to figure out what it looked like to steward those gifts well. Maybe my unique role as a Lego would reveal itself by joining the Greek system. I didn’t move into that decision quickly, but with prayer, practical thinking, and conversations with men from the church who knew me well, it was clear that I needed to go ahead and act. We, as followers of Christ, are called to move and are responsible to deploy the energy God has given us. We are called to be workers. I’ve had several opportunities to work hard and use my strengths and gifts that the Lord has uniquely equipped me with to lead my brothers well and build relational capital with a lot of guys who are different than me. And I’ve learned that I love it. Working under His provision and blessing, I’ve had a lot of fun and have seen the Lord use me in incredible ways in guys’ lives who’ve let me share mine. And it turns out, as the fraternity developed over time, I went from being a Lego visible on the exterior to the interior, providing structure to a project that continues to grow larger.

Ultimately, within two years of being involved, I’ve found that it’s also been very hard. There are times when I regret the initial commitment I made to this organization, due to some relationships that don’t seem to be fruitful, an overwhelming amount of opportunity to flesh out some of my inclinations towards a sinful lifestyle, or financial burdens. The time I have been exerting energy into the fraternity has produced a season of complete dependence upon the Lord for boldness, patience, and perseverance. In this, I have had to rely on my faith to be able to work, and if faith is not necessary to do what is ahead of us, then maybe we are not working hard enough. A lot of us gripe about our workload, especially when it comes to academics and studying. We think our work is hard, boring, and tedious, and we grow tired and frustrated as a result. That’s when we begin working; work makes us weary and is hard. As we learned early in the Work series, our fruitfulness is certainly overlaid with frustration.

“We think our work is hard, boring, and tedious, and we grow tired and frustrated as a result. That’s when we begin working; work makes us weary and is hard.”

A lot of the difficulties or tension created by the workload in front of me have been alleviated by my community, whether peers and elders who have come alongside me to offer support, or guys who have actually partnered with me to do the same work. Like Legos, that is part of His plan to bring different pieces together as a project heads towards completion.

I should note that I never played with Legos as a kid. They always hurt my feet when I stepped on them, but now, as an adult, I pause for more reasons than that when I see them. As we look reflectively upon this unseemly metaphor, there are a few things to keep in mind:

· As a college student, it’s important to find somewhere that you can deploy the strengths and gifts the Lord has given you.
· If your work doesn’t leave you tired, frustrated, and dependent upon God’s provision, then maybe you’re not working hard enough.
· If you’re a college student considering dropping commitments, there’s something telling about working where your feet are.
· If you’re looking to add more commitments, consider working harder where you already are.
· And if you’re not plugged into a local church, plug in! You need to be obedient to what God calls us to as Christians and be a part of a multi-generational community, communal worship, and everything else a local church offers you; it will affect how you serve, love, and ultimately how you work. Man was never meant to be alone, kinda like a Lego.