commence….

Tonight my wife and I will take a group of students who are graduating from high school out to dinner.   We will eat at a nice restaurant, then head to one of my favorite places for dessert.  After the eating is done we will reminisce and talk about our favorite memories over the last several years.  Camps, conventions, road trips, bon-fires, break-ups….. lots of memories.  At some point I will ask them what lessons they have learned as they worked their way through high school.  It is always interesting to hear what has impacted their lives and what truths they have managed to pick up along the way.  Sometimes I am thoroughly impressed with the wisdom that comes from some of these young men and women.  It seems to be evenings like the one I will enjoy tonight that remind me how quickly time passes.

They call it commencement but it’s not.  It’s really more of a continuation. Life has been underway for years now and it will continue to flow right by at a rate that, although  I know is steady, seems to always be picking up the pace.  Tonight I will tell them that.  Tonight I will also warn them, and remind myself, of the steady stream of distractions that will attempt to steal their focus from what really matters.  The longer I live, the deeper I realize the truth of what Jesus said in Luke 9.  In verse 23 Jesus tells the crowd that by attempting to cling to one’s life and seeking after temporary things, life will slip through your fingers and be lost. But if you would like to save your life, if you would like to find true life,  it’s accomplished by laying your life down for Him.