President Costin prepares students for the ‘exam of life’ in final Convocation of school year

Next week may mean final exams for Liberty University students, some of whom are concluding their college chapters, but President Dondi Costin spent Friday morning outlining a study guide for a much greater test.

Friday’s Convocation in the Vines Center was the final gathering of the school year for the student body before on-campus exam sessions begin on Thursday, May 2.

Costin’s message began with a poignant video of aspiring Navy SEALs enduring BUDS (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) school, the notoriously arduous time that tests recruits’ physical endurance and mental fortitude. Those who find themselves unable to continue the 24-week push are instructed to remove their helmet and ring a bell three times.

“The thing about being a SEAL is that the training process is hard, and many people don’t make it, but the training process is not the most important process; the most important (process) is the missions that come afterward,” Costin said.

In this same way, Costin said being a Champion for Christ at Liberty begins with studying well in the classroom, and the ultimate test will be the decades of career, relationships, and faith in God that follow graduation.

“Here’s the thing about Champions for Christ: they find a way to win,” he said. “They understand that life is going to be difficult, but they know that Jesus Christ is with them. Your final exam is coming. Your final exam will happen every single day, from the time you cross that stage at Commencement until the day you meet the Lord face-to-face. You have studied the Word of God, you have been impacted by professors who love you and love God and want the best for you. Soon, it will be time to do that thing that God has called you to do.”

On this greater “exam,” Costin said there are five questions: 1) How closely did you follow Jesus? 2) What gave you meaning in life? 3) Who spoke into your life? 4) How did you handle hardship? and 5) How did you define success?

“When you leave this particular bubble, you’re going to have two choices of ways to live: you can live as the world lives… or be in the Word,” Costin said. “The world says you can live your truth, do it yourself, be happy. What God wants for you most is not your happiness; he wants your holiness. Be in the Word, not of the world.”

Costin stressed the importance of surrounding oneself with fellow believers after leaving Liberty, namely by finding and investing in a local church to maintain an “active faith.”

When the inevitable struggles of life on earth Earth come, Costin said, God can provide the strength to continue. Believers must choose Him over earthly solutions, and that choice is vital.

“What you think of God while you’re handling hardship may be the most important decision you will make, and I beg you to make it now … because trouble is coming.”

At the end of one’s life, there is a desire to look back and feel a measure of success, but being successful is dependent on one’s definition. Costin said some people measure success by materialistic standards, but Christ followers ought to find fulfillment in having walked the life path God called them to.

“God will define (success) this way: did you choose the narrow path that leads to (eternal) life, the one that is not all that well traveled? Or did you choose the broad, wide way? Did you lay up for yourself treasures on this earth only, or did you invest your life laying up for yourself treasures in Heaven? If you only live for this (earthly) life, you’re going to be very disappointed at the end. But if you understand that this world is not your home and that you’re just passing through, when you get to the end, it’s going to be the best day, for the rest of your (eternal) life,” Costin said.

In his closing moments with this year’s Liberty students, Costin encouraged them to continue on in their pursuit of God and His success, seeing failure as only a slight stumble on their continued journey forward.

“When you get out of this (Liberty) bubble and into the world, there will come a time when you will fail and you will fall down,” he said. “All we ask is that you get up (and) don’t ring the bell. Just get up and do the thing that Champions for Christ do. They do not quit; they find a way to win.”