Endings and Beginnings
Or: Why this is my first post in May
In my last post I mentioned what a busy season this was for me. And then it got even busier.
I finished my first semester of what I hope will be many years as a full-time professor. I created, gave, and graded final exams. Participated in graduation. Attended end of semester in-service. And it has all been great. I am truly loving the opportunity to teach and work at a Jacksonville College. This new beginning for me has been such a joy.
I also finished my seventh and last year teaching high school Bible at Full Armor Christian Academy, a local private school. My students surprised me at church one Sunday and gave me a handsome watch I’ve been wearing ever since. This group of students has been so fantastic and I’m grateful that I’m leaving on such a high note.
So it has been a little busy.
Last night was graduation for my high school students and I have the privilege of delivering the commencement address. It was in way not only my final charge to my two graduating seniors but also a closing word to all of my students in that exceptional class.
So I thought I would share those words with you as well. They capture some of my own feelings about the ending of one season and the beginning of another and I hope you find them both stirring and encouraging.
Commencement Address
Graduation is always a bittersweet moment. There is so much excitement about what comes next. You are entering more fully into adulthood and pursuing opportunities that will shape the rest of your life. But you are also leaving many things behind. A season is ending and there is always a little sadness in that.
You have both been at Full Armor since you were very little. This school and this community have loved you and shaped you in ways you don’t even realize yet. You’ve memorized a lot of scripture, learned a lot of Bible and theology, tackled difficult subjects like anatomy and algebra. And now you are finished. Finally! You’ve been looking forward to that finish line for a long time. And we are all here to congratulate you and cheer you on and celebrate your accomplishment.
But I hope you know that finishing high school was never the ultimate goal. You’ve finished this race, but the next one begins now. And it will be harder. And probably better. You are surrounded right now by teachers and staff members, family members and friends who have worked hard to help you get to this point – not so you could be finished, so that you could be ready for what comes next.
We want you to continue. Continue learning. Continue growing. Continue to trust in the Lord and follow his word. Paul said it this way to Timothy:
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim 3:14-15, ESV).
You may not have weekly chapel or a Bible class in this next season of your life. You may not have someone praying for you and reading scripture to you at the start of every day in the next season of your life. Don’t let those habits dry up and die out like the grass in August. Go to church every Sunday. Read the Bible and pray every day. Continue. Continue. Continue in what you have learned Paul says.
We want you to let God’s word be your light.
But I want to take you back to a verse you probably learned a long time ago and that is Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path,” (ESV).
This verse that is so familiar and so simple teaches profound truths that we never outgrow.
Why is it good news that God’s word is a light for our feet and a lamp for our path?
Because often our way is dim or even dark so that we cannot see where to go. So we need a light.
We may need a light to shine through the fog of our own confusion and uncertainty about what to do next. Go to college? Get a job? Get married? What church to join? Where to live? We need a light.
We may need a light to shine in the darkness because sometimes the world is a dark place. There is evil and suffering. Some claim we cannot know truth and others that there is no truth to know. Who can you trust? Why is the world like this? We need a light.
We need a light for our feet and a lamp for our path because there are pitfalls and snares, temptations designed to trip and ensnare us. We need a light to help us see and avoid them.
The Bible is that light. God’s word is your lamp. Don’t walk far without it. Don’t think that you can avoid the snares while walking in the dark.
When you need clarity, go to God’s word. There’s no verse in there about whether you should go to college or where you should go if you do. There’s no verse that tells you who you should marry or when. But everything you need to know in order to honor and depend on God as you make those decision is in there. The wisdom you need for navigating tough decisions and confusing seasons is there.
Wherever you go and whatever you do the thing I hope you take with you is trust in God and dependence on his word.
We want you to remember what is most important. Or as Paul says it, what is of first importance.
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,” (1 Cor 15:3-4, ESV).
What matters most of all is not what church you go to, what denomination you are part of, whether you go to a Christian college or not, whether you go to college or not. What matters most is who Jesus is and what Jesus did. What matters most is that you trust in Christ Jesus who died for our sin and rose again for our salvation.
Finally, find good examples and follow them
We are all shaped by the people around us, by the voices we listen to, by the examples we follow. And there have never been more voices crying out for your attention or more people saying ‘I know the way, come follow me.’ Choose wisely who you listen to and who you follow. I cannot improve on how Paul put it, so I will close with his words:
“Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved” (Phil 3:17-4:1, ESV).
Well said, well written and hopefully well received…..this is a wonderful message.