To the 2024 Graduating Class: Congratulations! You made it. You get to celebrate and be celebrated. You get to honor and be honored, but make no mistake, this isn’t the finish line, it’s simply the ending of one chapter and the beginning of another. As I considered words I would want to share with my four kids on the day they graduate, this is what came to mind:
“The love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Cor. 5:14-15)
My family lives in an old farmhouse built in 1900. We have chickens, cats, a dog, and we had pigs but that was a disaster. It was a tasty disaster, but definitely not a repeat experience. There are many projects and things that need to be done around our house and throughout our property. Last spring the church graciously gave me a four week sabbatical. It was a gift! During that time we spent a good chunk at home. We lived like we were in early retirement for a few weeks. I removed tree stumps, moved cattle panels, and made a new fenced area for our dog. I worked hard with my hands which was a nice change of pace, but I didn’t work our fingers to the bone. I took breaks, watched movies, ate good food, and slept in if I wanted to. Life was slow, quiet, and pretty easy.
You may be thinking, “That sounds like a great life. I wish I had that!” Can I tell you something? It’s not. It was a nice break after 14 years of ministry, but even in the middle of my break I thought, “This would be a miserable life.” The quietness, minimal interactions with other people, physical rest whenever I wanted it is all a gift but not how I want to spend the whole of my life. I don’t want to make it to heaven’s shores just to say, “Lord, thank you for a nice, comfortable, easy life. Here’s what I give you: a house and property that I cared for.”
Graduates, don’t you want your life to count for something more than rest or an easy retirement? Rest isn’t bad. Retirement isn’t bad (in fact it’s wise to save for it). It’s just not what God wants you to live the whole of your life for. You were made for more. You were saved by Jesus for more.
If you want to make a difference in the world for God’s kingdom, and I hope you do, it’s not going to come as a result of your looks or intelligence level, picking the right school, finding the right spouse, or landing the right job, it’s going to come from being gripped by the right things, ultimately the love of Christ. When Christ’s love grips your life, He gives you a new purpose to live for. God’s love transforms us into everyday missionaries to take Christ’s love into the places we live, work, learn, and play. If you go to trade school, a university, or take a gap year, if you remain single, get married, or desire one day to be a mom or a dad, if you own and operate your own business, or go overseas as a missionary–whatever you do, let the love of Christ grip you to leverage your life for his glory.
C.T. Studd, was a missionary in the late 1800’s who’s life was gripped by the love of Christ and lived for His glory. I want to leave you with four lines from a poem he penned:
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,
If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.
Graduate, make your life count for Jesus. We are praying for you and cheering you on! Parents, our children are not ours to raise and keep, but to raise and send out to make a difference in the world for Jesus. Church, encourage the graduates and graduate parents in your life to continue in the love of Jesus and to keep living for Jesus.