To My "Favorite" Class Upon Their Graduation

This year, the senior class at school asked me to be their commencement speaker. I was very honored and enjoyed considering what my parting words might be to this special group of students. I love them all very much, as I’m sure this speech shows. I gave this commencement address on Friday, May 15.

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These five students and I have a running joke together. Early in my time at {school}, one of these students (I won’t say which one) would raise his hand and ask, “Are we your favorite class?” I almost always responded with something like, “I can’t tell you that now, but I’ll tell you after you graduate.” Well, today you’re graduating, and I’m still not going to tell you that you’re my favorite class, but what I will tell you is that I care about all of you very much.

As I already mentioned, one of you used to ask me that very specific, and very sweet, question in class, which made me feel like I belonged here at school. A different one of you took me for a tour around your property and has the fastest walking pace of anybody I know - I could barely keep up! Another one of you has asked me a lot of questions in class, and has been very patient as I gave varying answers - sometimes my answers were a little sarcastic, but I hope most of the time they were helpful. Either way, they proved that you often had a better grasp on the material than I did. Another one of you has become like a younger sibling to me, as we’ve shared our writing with each other and talked about life beyond school. Finally, one of you gives the best book recommendations and will never shy away from telling me a good story.

My first idea for what to talk about in this speech was encouragement - I wanted to encourage all of you in your future plans. I realized, however, that encouragement in your future plans is not necessarily what you need right now. You all have families and friends who do that so well already. What I’d like to do is talk with you about one of my favorite Bible verses, Philippians 3:12-16, which says:

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

When Paul says he has not “obtained this” but is pressing on to make it his own, although he hasn’t made it his own yet, he’s referring to an idea earlier in chapter three: that by any means possible he may attain the resurrection of the dead. He presses on to make the resurrection his own, because Jesus has made Paul his own. He forgets what lies behind and strains forward to what lies ahead, “the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

I love the language Paul uses here - it’s beautiful and poetic. The “upward call of God in Christ Jesus” is a prize, or a treasure, something we receive not through merits of our own, but through grace. Prizes are exciting and unexpected. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, and God saved us because he loves us. This is unexpected; God came into our darkness and brought his marvelous light.

The prize for which we strive is the “upward call of God.” I imagine Paul with his face lifted toward heaven, his heart focused on God, joyfully doing what God called him to do even though at times it nearly killed him and finally did kill him. Paul knew, however, that this “upward call” came through Christ, his Savior, who would be with him to the end and beyond. He didn’t doubt God’s faithfulness; and we know that as Christians, God is faithful to each of us and will hold onto us even if we let go. And this was the prize for Paul: that God would call him to do work for the sake of the gospel. Paul wasn’t looking for any material wealth or treasure, only what God desired for him.

Sandwiched between these two ideas, that the gospel is our prize and our calling, Paul first explains how he lives his life: he forgets what lies behind and strains forward to what lies ahead. Graduates, I don’t believe that Paul is encouraging you to forget everything you’ve learned at {school}; I do believe that he’s encouraging you to look toward the future instead of getting mired in the past. I know that some of you have already faced trials in relation to what you plan to do after you graduate. Being rejected is hard, but these verses from Philippians teach us about perseverance. We can put these trials in the past, take the lessons we learned from them along with us, and continue doing God’s will. Just as Paul did, we can “run the race set before us,” laying aside every weight and sin which clings close to us. [1]

Second, Paul is clear that this type of thinking is mature. This maturity is based on trust, that we believe God will finish the good work he began in us. Our motion is not arrested just because something did not turn out the way we planned. God has a path laid out for us to follow, and we find this path by doing his will, which first and foremost means loving him above everything else. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” [2] It is mature for us to believe that if we keep our minds on what is heavenly, God will bring us to the green pastures and still waters he describes in Psalm 23.

Dear graduates, you may remember that at the beginning of this speech I said I was not going to encourage you. I do, however, believe that’s all I’ve done so far. Now, it’s time for me to discourage you. I’d like to discourage you from thinking that God’s will is like the cure for a disease - if you don’t find it, you’re doomed. You already know what is God’s will for your life: love God and love others, in that order. This will look different for each of you, but nevertheless, it is the best place to begin thinking about the rest of your life. You are free to make decisions using the mind God gave you, as long as you spend time in prayer and God’s Word, and look for guidance from the godly people he’s placed in your life.

I’d like to discourage you from thinking that you can only do what comes easily for you. We all have natural gifts and abilities, but those gifts and abilities need to be cultivated so they can grow strong. If it were up to me, I would never set foot on a stage in front of an audience. But, you all heard and saw me half an hour or so ago sing into a microphone. I’m writing this speech days in advance, but I can still assure you that I wanted to run off the stage and hide in a closet where nobody could look at me. That, however, would not be using my gifts well. And also, what if you’re interested in something you’re not really that good at? Perhaps you may not want to choose that something as a career, but in your leisure time, you’re free to pursue what interests you, so go for it. I hope you never feel constrained by the natural abilities you believe you do or do not have.

Finally, I’d like to discourage you from thinking that the way your life is now is always the way your life will be and the way you are now is always the way you will be. Neither of these statements are true. If you keep your heart and mind focused on the “upward call of God in Christ Jesus,” you will mature into the person God designed you to be. This won’t happen magically via “time”, but will happen as you “work out your own salvation in fear and trembling” [3]; that is, as you consistently, but not morbidly, evaluate your thoughts and actions and ask the Holy Spirit to show you sins lurking in the corners of your heart. You will go through mountains in life, times when you feel loved and appreciated, and you will go through deep valleys, times when you feel lonely and anxious. God is with you at both times and will bring you through the valleys to the mountains on the other side. This may happen more than once in your life, this journey from darkness into light, but be encouraged: the valley will _always_ lead to the mountain in the end.

There is a show I like whose soundtrack was written by a composer named Evan Call. One of my favorite tracks is called “A Well-Earned Celebration.” The heroes of the show have returned from defeating an evil king, and they’re all together one last time celebrating their victory with beverages and desserts. Last week, when I met with the five of you for lunch to discuss this graduation ceremony, I had listened to this track in my car on the way to meet you. As we sat at the table, laughing about something, I realized that this time in your life, including this very night, is a well-earned celebration. You’ve completed something big and important and you’ve been victorious over the challenges you encountered in school. You’ve won, and now you can celebrate your victory with your friends and family, the people who fought by your side and traveled with you on your quest. I’m so happy I got to be one of them. As someone once said, “It’s not about the grades; it’s about the friends we made along the way.”

As you respond to “the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,” I know you’ll face challenges in your life through which you must persevere. But, I hope you take at the very least today to celebrate your accomplishments before you move on to the next right thing. We have victory in Christ, you’ve all graduated from {school}, and someday we’ll all be together again for eternity after striving toward the resurrection and finally attaining it - this is the amazing hope we have in Christ. So, whether you are a student who makes people feel welcome, lives life with ambition, asks thoughtful questions, loves others through words, or tells really great stories, I look forward to continuing this journey with you, wherever that may take us.

[1]: Hebrews 12:1

[2]: 1 Matthew 6:33

[3]: Philippians 2:12

All of these endings, like strings
Tied in knots on one end
But loose and harried on the other
Waiting to gather what yarns they may
Waiting for the hook, to loop
Them in with other waiting threads
Like you, their end is their beginning
You wait for the work to come together
One grand, hand-woven design

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