"When Commencement Counts"
A Commencement Address Given to Graduates of Randall University on Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Unedited remarks)
President Thompson, Board of Trustees, Randall Administration, Faculty and Staff, Students, Parents and Distinguished Guests, it’s an honor and privilege to be with you for this ceremony.
What we’re doing today is strange. I don’t mean celebrating the completion of your Randall education. There’s nothing strange about that. But what we call this day is: commencement. It sounds very official very lofty, but it’s a bit misleading. One textbook definition of commencement is “a ceremony.” And of course, this is a ceremony. But the more fundamental definition of commencement is “a beginning or start.” That doesn’t really fit today. Today is all about completion, conclusion, accomplishment. We should hang a banner over this stage and have it say, “Done!” (Though that feels a tad unsophisticated, doesn’t it? We could say termination, but that sounds kind of threatening. So, we’ll stick with commencement.)
Most of you would say is, “Today is the beginning of something. This marks the end of one chapter of my life and the beginning of another.” True. That’s why the word commencement lingers. But I point out the oddness of this word because today does feel more like an ending than a beginning. You receive a diploma to mark the completion of a degree. And then you leave (or at least you should). Sounds like something is over.
Yet today is the first day of the rest of your life. Based on life expectancies, many of you could have sixty or seventy years ahead. Based on the uncertainties of life, you’re not guaranteed six or seven days. But you leave here with plans, hopes, and dreams. You leave here with expectations. What would it mean not only to “commence well” but to finish well? Forget for a moment your lifespan, your degree program, or even your theology. Consider why it’s so hard to finish well.
Beginnings bring excitement: new initiatives, new projects, new business ventures, new ministries. Fairly or unfairly, a new church generates a lot more interest than the established church of sixty or seventy years. Getting married or having your first child is exciting. People flock to Silicon Valley to be involved in a start-up not an end-up. Being at the beginning of something new is appealing.
Unfortunately, that enthusiasm doesn’t translate to the end of things. We don’t often value long-term, future-oriented things quite like those which are happening right now. That turns out to be a major problem:
First, even if you begin well, you aren’t guaranteed to finish well. Getting off on the right foot matters. Sturdy foundations matter. The habits you had while a student here will show up in your future, whether for good or ill. Certainly, a strong start creates momentum which pushes us down the road a distance. But starting well isn’t finishing well.
Second, human nature always catches up to us. There are tons of potholes and barriers between the beginning and end of something. Detours and blowouts are frequent. And it’s not mainly external challenges we face, but our hearts. Sometimes there are signs in life that say, “Bridge out ahead,” and we crash right on through the barrier. Now surely God helps those who trust Him out of the ditch all the time. But the obstacles to happiness, wholeness, and holiness are many, which makes finishing well uncertain.
Third, distractions are a greater problem than we imagine. This is the defining feature of our time: constant distraction. Our senses are bombarded with a thousand every hour. How many of you have already peaked at your phones or smart watches, wondering how much longer this guy is going drone on? That device burns a hole in your pocket. Parents are obsessing over that perfect picture afterward or getting to the restaurant or party on time. People say you can’t be in two places at once. Nonsense! We’ve always been able to be physically present in one place, but mentally present elsewhere.
Distractions are more than common or annoying; they can be devastating. Just ask the families of the 1162 people injured or killed in auto accidents each day when distracted driving is a factor.
Among all your plans, what plans have you made to ensure that you stay focused and finish well? What plans do you have to reach the end of life, and not look back on a life plagued by various regrets?
I have a few modest, biblical suggestions on how to finish the race:
1-Keep Your Wits.
2-Persevere through Suffering.
3-Share the Big Truth.
4-Complete Your Assignment.
Even if you’ve not read the letter that we call 2 Timothy, you know Paul’s words: “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” A man who had lived well could say that, even while awaiting execution. This is man who starts well in terms of social standing, education, and religious zeal. However, Paul opposes the Jesus movement from the start. He is complicit in the persecution and even death of some. Yet the Lord graciously saves him and uses him over roughly 25 years to accomplish incredible things.
He started fine, then got very sideways, but he heard Christ’s call to come home. Here we find him finishing well and trying to help Timothy and us to do so also. Before he makes his memorable claims about fighting, running, and finishing well, he gives four specific instructions. These are not unrelated. They are four critical areas of focus for those who finish well.
1. Keep your wits. Many things distract, discourage, upset, even infuriate. Social media hasn’t helped us! News media isn’t helping. Television isn’t helping. We have constant outrage machines around us running on a loop. We have a lot of heat, but not always a lot of light. To be sober-minded, self-controlled, or to “keep our head on straight” sounds so simple. But if it were, more people would do it. To live well and finish well means rejecting the outrage, vitriol, hate. It means when everyone else is acting childishly, you’re the adult in the room. You defuse awkward situations when tensions arise. You think carefully over complex issues while others cling to easy slogans and cliches. You maintain a clear, calm, sober mind. You keep your wits when everyone else doesn’t. By doing so, you will prove yourself to be more valuable to your family, your church, your employer, and your community than if you had millions to give. You’ll set yourself up to finish strong.
2. Even when you do keep a sober mind, you must persevere. You’ll suffer because you live in a fallen world, because you’re human, because you sin, because others sin against you. You’ll suffer because God permits it to grow you and mature you. You’ll suffer if you choose to live a godly life for Jesus (Paul promises that in the previous chapter.) How will you respond? Will you wilt? Will you cave? Will you back down or burn out? If you lean on God and on His people, He’ll help you to endure. Sometimes we’re forced to endure difficult situations, sometimes difficult people. (Usually, both!) But remember: (1) suffering is unavoidable, and (2) suffering is how God does His greatest work. You will not become everything you can become in Christ without facing and enduring suffering.
In his book The Road to Character, David Brooks contrasts “resume virtues” with “eulogy virtues”. He says our world focuses us on resume virtues—the things we’ve accomplished or acquired that we’d put on a resume. In fact, we spend so much of our lives trying to populate these resumes (written and unwritten ones) to impress others. Yet Brooks says if you ask people, they will admit that eulogy virtues are more important: kindness, patience, mercy, love, truthfulness, steadfastness. These are virtues we cultivate partly through hardship. These are also the way we want people to describe us in a eulogy at our funeral.
There’s not a consequential figure in history or in your life who hasn’t suffered significantly. There’s no great literature or great films without suffering, and there surely aren’t any memorable accomplishments without suffering. There’s no resurrection without crucifixion. So, persevere through suffering.
3. Now while you’re trying to keep your wits, and as you endure, the big truth of your life is going to appear. Share it. Don’t think Paul saying “do the work of an evangelist” is calling all of us to be the next Billy Graham. For most Christians it’s a much more basic call: to share the Good News of Jesus with others. That’s our “big truth.” But you see, even if you don’t know Christ, you have a “big truth,” a gospel of sorts. It could be about your view of politics, your view of money, time, relationships, or just about you. You have a message or truth that is undergirding and driving your life. It’s what you live for, and what people observe through your words and deeds. It’s your “gospel.” Be sure the big truth of your life matters enough to share with others and suffer for. Be sure your big truth is God’s big truth. That’s the only truth you can hang your hat on at the finish line. Many haven’t made it because their gospel wasn’t good news at all. Share the big truth. Make sure it is the truth.
4. Finally, complete your assignment. Do what God designed you to do. Finish it. Complete it. Don’t chase other people’s assignments and vocations. Don’t put your finger into the wind to decide what you’re good at. Don’t live out your parents’ dreams. Discern what God put you on this earth to do, do your best at, and stick to it. Different seasons of life may call for different things. Sometimes we face professional setbacks. Sometimes jobs run their course. Sometimes God gives two or three seasons of professional opportunities. (If God is doing the giving, then they are a calling.) But you have a limited number of things you can do and do well. So, while God may have more than one assignment for you, most likely there is one main contribution or ministry you offer to the world.
Remember that “ministry” is just as easily be translated as “service.” Ask yourself: What service does God want me to bring to His world? To my community? To my family? To my church? My alma mater? Fulfilling or completing our ministry means finding our work and finishing it.
I completed my undergraduate education nearly 20 years ago. I’m astounded and crushed by how many of my classmates have lost their way. I’m reminded of how hard it is to start well and finish well. I’m reminded that, I haven’t finished yet. Neither have you.
So, when does commencement count? When does it really matter? Commencement counts when we learn that finishing is as important as starting. Finishing reveals our focus and commitment, but mostly, God’s sustaining grace.
So go on and commence today. But for the sake of Jesus and your neighbors, finish! Jesus ran his race. He kept his wits, suffered for us, died and rose for the truth, and finished his assignment. He did it for you and for me. Now let’s go finish for him.
