Today, I graduated.
I was excited for about a minute, and then I realized that hidden behind all of the pictures and hugging and happiness was a subliminal goodbye.
Commencement. If you look up this word in a thesaurus, you may find that one of the synonyms listed is birth, or kick-off. The cool thing about these words is that they mark the end of anticipation. A pregnant woman anticipates the birth of her baby for almost an entire year. A football team anticipates their first kick-off after an entire off-season of practice. I bet if you ask a mother, she wouldn't be satisfied with just being pregnant for months, and then never having a baby. I bet if you ask a team, they wouldn't be satisfied with practicing for months and then never playing a game. That's what graduation is. Up until this point, my life has been an anticipation for this moment. Yes, it is sad to let go and move on. But i've spent the last 22 years preparing for this moment. I don't really know what it is (hope I figure it out soon!), but I know that God is excited and I'm excited to let Him work through me.
My challenge is handed down from a challenge given by David Wilkerson before his death in 2011. To my fellow graduates of BBC, other colleges, and other brothers and sisters in Christ, let us veil ourselves in Christ. Let our identity be in Jesus Christ. Remember that at the point of salvation, at the point of asking Christ to be the leader and savior of our life, we surrendered to LIFE ABANDONMENT. Not our desires, but His desires through us.
"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus". (Philippians 3:13-14)
