It’s done. They called out her name and she walked across the stage. She shook hands with the principal and he handed her a beautiful padded cover. She moved her tassel to the other side of her hat and returned to her seat. Thirteen years of work summed up in that one moment of moving her tassel and Dory is now a high school graduate.
Of course, it didn’t all go off without a hitch. Someone backstage got confused and told them to put their tassels back where they were. Also, the cover was just that, a cover. After the ceremony, she had to go back upstairs to get her actual diploma. A few names were mispronounced and we all chuckled as the principal fanned himself with the next cover to ward off the heat. But it was over. The class of 2018 is now a historical fact.
So, what’s next? That is the question, isn’t it? Graduation is not the end. It’s just a stepping stone, a chapter ending, a pause before the next adventure. We would be worried, even mad, if Dory chose to sit down now and never do anything again. “I’ve graduated,” she’d say, “what more do you want me to do?”
Do you know anyone who has done that with their spiritual life? They meet with the pastor or come down the aisle. They say a prayer and get a warm fuzzy but that’s the end. “I got saved,” they’d say, “what more do you want me to do?” The Christian life is just that – a life! It’s not the Christian rest, the Christian stopover, or the Christian siesta. It’s a life which suggests doing, going, activity, vitality, etc. And as important as it is to come to church and worship together, the majority of the Christian life is lived outside the walls of the church.
I’m the very proud papa of Dory, the new graduate. I am also the excited and hopeful Father awaiting her progress toward and into the future. In a similar fashion, God is looking to us to make our next move to help further His Kingdom. Move that tassel and let’s get going!
Until our next togethering,
love ya,
Bret
