Abertay University in Dundee, like most universities, has its motto written in ancient
Latin. This is perhaps surprising for Abertay which is a modern university, one of the
youngest in Scotland. It has had a long history, however, beginning in 1888 as
Dundee Technical Institute. It moved to its current site in Bell Street in1911, became
Dundee Institute of Art and Technology in 1933, and given university status in 1994.

Through all of its history and development, its mission has matched its motto:
Beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam – which means “Blessed is the one who
finds wisdom”. This is actually a quote from the Holy Bible (as are the mottos of
many universities). You can find it in the Old Testament Book of Proverbs chapter 3
verse 13. “Blessed” means “truly and ethically happy”. It might describe that feeling
of achievement and celebration on graduation day, but there’s more to it than that. A
university education opens doors to success and prosperity which come from more
than the knowledge of facts and theories. It’s rather about knowing how to use and
apply what you know, about an attitude to life which is marked by “wisdom”.

Looking out on the world today you might think that wisdom is in short supply, with
countless problems for individuals, for nations, for us all. Advances in science and
technology have certainly been beneficial to society when applied correctly, but it
has also created problems, some of which persist while new ones crop up. You will
be able to name a few, many caused by selfishness and carelessness.

These are an evidence of something deeper which affects us all. The Bible calls it
sin, and it shows itself in many forms. The Bible also tells us that it will bring us
under the judgement of God unless it is forgiven. But how? God hates our sin but He
loves us – so much that He gave His Son Jesus Christ to take the penalty of our sin
when He died on a cross at Calvary. If we deliberately accept Him, putting our faith
and trust in Him, He will save us from our sin and its penalty. We will be forgiven.
God asks us to “repent and believe the Gospel”.

One day Jesus spoke about two men who built houses. In his wisdom, one chose to
build on a solid rock foundation. Foolishly the other man built on sand. In the great
storm which came along, one house stood fast. Predictably the other collapsed in
ruins. Jesus said that the wisdom which brings real blessedness is to build on the
solid foundation of what He offers to you today. If you find this wisdom you will be
really blessed. It will give security when life’s storms come along, and safety when
the storm of God’s judgement falls on the world.

University of Dundee – Magnificat anima mea dominum – My soul doth magnify the Lord (Luke 1:46)

This motto is a quotation from the first line of Mary’s Magnificat – her song of praise recorded in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:46-55).  The word “magnify” simply means to make large, and in her song Mary puts a focus on God’s goodness to her which she found overwhelming. It was prompted by the angelic announcement that she would be the vessel through which God would bring into the world His Son, Jesus – the divine saviour, the long promised descendent of King David, who will one day set up an eternal kingdom.

While Mary has a unique place in history, the second line of her song shows she was just an ordinary person, with whom we can all identify: “And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour (Luke 1:47). You see, not only did Mary understand her personal need of a saviour; better, she had a personal assurance that God was her saviour.

Let me explain how you too can have this.

In the Bible God is described as a Saviour. That is, saving is part of His character, and He acts to preserve life in a whole host of often unrecognised ways.  The 103^rd Psalm advises us not to forget the times God rescues us from coming to an early grave (Psalm 103:4). Think of the number of illnesses you’ve recovered from, or potential brushes with death and danger that could have been fatal.  We’ve all been preserved at times, and the Psalmist urges us that God is to be thanked for those rescues.

However, beyond all that is the greater need for salvation from sin. The Bible warns that there is a day of judgement coming which will irreversibly seal our eternal destiny (Revelation 20:11-15).  Ahead of that day, God has made it clear that each one of us already stands guilty of sin.  And we actually know this – because our conscience provides us with a guilt feedback loop when we do things we know intuitively are wrong.  The Lord Jesus bluntly summed up our condition: “There is none good but one; that is God” (Matthew 19:17).

The good news, or gospel, is that God has provided a way of salvation in His Son, Jesus.  His entrance into the world was for the purpose of offering Himself through death to God – as a sacrifice on behalf of sinners.  Today God promises to justify – that is, to declare right in His sight – every person who depends on His Son for salvation (Romans 3:26).  Christ has done all the work, and now a simple act of faith brings us into the good of it (Romans 4:5).  Like Mary, the person who has taken God at His word will have an internal assurance that God is their saviour, causing them to rejoice.  If you don’t have this, it can be yours right now through faith.  But don’t put it off – for after you die it is too late (Hebrews 9:27).

The York St. John University holds the coat of arms- Ut Vitam Habeant et Abundantius which when translated from Latin to English reads “that they may have life and have it more abundantly” this is from the book of John contained within the Bible, chapter 10, verse 10.

The whole verse reads “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Here in the Bible, Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, is contrasting the differences between His shepherd-like care and “the thief”. The thief illustrates the unfaithful and illegitimate leaders. Their motives were clear, they caused destruction and devastation, harming and killing all that surrounded them and only taking for themselves.

On the other hand, we’re presented with a new kind of leader, Jesus. A lowly, humble man that didn’t come to accumulate riches and wealth from the people He ministered to; but instead we’re painted a very different picture of Christ for example; when a man proclaimed to Jesus that he wanted to be a follower of Him, Jesus effectively said, consider the cost, for the foxes have their holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head. When the tax collector was pressing Him for an illegal assessment, Jesus did not have the money to pay so He sent Peter to catch a fish. When He wanted to use a coin to illustrate a point, He had to borrow that coin. Jesus, unlike ‘the thief’ didn’t come to take from us and accumulate a mass of wealth, He instead came to give all that He had for us!

Jesus Christ loved us so much that He willingly laid down His life for us. We as humans are flawed, we have advanced in so many ways in science and technology, yet we still do wrong, we still go to war with one another, we kill, we steal, we lie and break God’s law. The one thing that we can never fix despite our advancements is our sin. Jesus gave His life on our behalf, when He died on a cross at Calvary, it was so that our problem of sin could be dealt with, that we “might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”. All that remains for us to do is simply place our faith and trust in Him, to believe in His life giving word. In the book of John in the Bible chapter 3, verse 16 it says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” By trusting in Christ you can have this abundance of life this very day!