On Monday, June 22, Central Philippine University began its college classes for the new academic year.
Classrooms once again are full. Teachers will lecture. Students will take notes. Assignments will be given. Deadlines will be set.
But CPU is not just any university. CPU carries a vision that sets it apart. It is not simply about producing graduates who are skilled and employable.
It is about forming students who are exemplary Christians. This is the vision of CPU: EXCEL – Exemplary Christian Education for Life.
2 Corinthians 3:2–3 says, “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”
This is what EXCEL means. It is not about grades or diplomas. It is about lives that are letters from Christ being read by everyone who sees them.
First, EXCEL means being an example.
The first letter in EXCEL stands for “Exemplary.” CPU does not aim to produce graduates who only know facts and figures. It aims to produce graduates who are examples of what it means to follow Christ.
Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 4:12, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
To be exemplary is to be a model. It is to live in such a way that others see Christ in you. In the classroom, this means honesty when no one is watching. It means kindness to classmates. It means respect for professors. It means excellence in your work not for a grade, but for the glory of God. Being exemplary is not about perfection. It is about consistency. It is about letting your life be a letter that others can read.
Second, EXCEL means education that shapes the whole person for life.
The vision of CPU is “Exemplary Christian Education for Life.” This is not education for a job. This is education for a life. It is education that shapes character. It is education that forms faith. It is education that prepares students not only for a career but for eternity. It is education that continues long after graduation.
Deuteronomy 6:6–7 says, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
This is education for life. It is not confined to a classroom. It is lived out in every moment of every day. CPU exists not just to teach students how to make a living. CPU exists to teach students how to live.
As college classes begin at CPU, students are not just entering a school. They are entering a community that has a vision. A vision to produce students who are exemplary Christians. A vision to offer education that shapes the whole person. A vision to prepare graduates who will bear fruit that lasts.
To every student: take your studies seriously. But do not stop there. Let your life be a letter that can be read by all. Be an example. Study for life. And let your education point to Christ, the One who gives life that truly lasts. | NWI
