GRADUATION!

It would’ve been nice if the graduation had been mine. But it wasn’t. (I’ll be sure to let y’all know when I’m done with my current educational enterprise.)

One of the daughters of the Morgans (my good friends) was the one who was graduating this weekend in Dallas, going on to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy. And I happened to be the speaker at the ceremony.

A joyous occasion. A moving one. It was a delight to share in the general exhilaration of the moment. Proud parents. Relieved graduates. Elated family. Well-wishing friends. Graduation. Success. Approbation. Reward.

As I enjoyed myself at the celebrations, rejoicing in the triumphs of those students, and partaking in the festivities, I wondered about that most important Graduation Ceremony of life, the last one, the final one, the ONLY one of eternal moment and significance. The day when believers will stand before Jesus Christ, their Savior, for the final accounting of their lives. For those who have placed their trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sin, this is an occasion when the Lord will assess their deeds, not for condemnation, but for the disposition of rewards to believers—our Graduation and the handing out of Honors.

After I gave the commencement address yesterday, I wondered: Will I hear from the Speaker on that Graduation Day to come …

“Well done,
good and faithful slave.
You were faithful with a few things,
I will put you in charge of many things;
enter into the joy of your master.”
Matthew 25:21

Faithfulness in a few things, little things, in what we’ve been allotted in this life, qualifies us for Graduation with Honors. With rewards. What exactly they might be is not very clear. The New Testament also refers to such rewards as “crowns,” which, in 1 Peter 5, for instance, appears to be the prize for an exemplary lifestyle of humility, especially for those who’ve been leaders …

And when the Chief Shepherd appears,
you will receive
the unfading crown of glory.
1 Peter 5:4

The Bible unabashedly touts rewards as incentives to faithfulness in our service to God; of course, rewards are not the only incentives to a godly life, but they certainly are valid ones; Scripture does not shy away from using them to motivate believers to maintain a consistent walk with God.

Run in such a way
that you may win.
Everyone who competes
in the games
exercises self-control in all things.
They then do it
to receive a perishable wreath,
but we an imperishable.
1 Cor 9:24–25

Living faithfully for God, in Christ, by the Spirit. A life in step with His Word, in line with His precepts, in accord with His demands. One way of conducting such a faithful life (training for spiritual athletics?) is, as Paul tells us above, by exercising self-control in all things. Immersed in a culture as we are, bombarded on every side by the slick messages that pander to instant self-gratification, this call for self-control is, to put it mildly, strange!

But not so in God’s view. Self-control now; satisfaction later. Restraint now; rewards later. Discipline now; deserts later. It is a fight to the end, a race to the finish, a fulfillment of obligations, a stewardship of life, for the glory of God!

I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the course,
I have kept the faith;
in the future
there is laid up for me
the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord,
the righteous Judge,
will award to me on that day.
2 Timothy 4:7–8

Let’s get ready for graduation. Summa cum laude!