2024 Graduation-Elijah Harkness

Sermon • Submitted 6 months ago • Presented 6 months ago

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Quick question, “How many of you have been to the US Capital?” In the National Statutory Hall of the US capital, there is a spot called The Whispering Gallery. At that spot, you can say something very softly, that can be clearly heard on the other side of the gallery. Pam and I have both witnessed how this works with our very own ears, our first year of marriage when we lived in Baltimore MD. Well in some ways, Elijah and I are going to have a conversation on one side of the gallery, and the rest of you are on the other side of the gallery listening in. As I give a challenge to Elijah, feel free to listen in, these challenges can very easily be applied to life and any level, at any age.

Elijah, thinking about your graduation today brought me to the point of thinking back to my high school graduation. Which brought on a case of severe depression when I realized it was 46 years ago when I graduated from high school! I don’t know the exact number from my graduating class, but 2 numbers pop in my mind, one is 400, the other is 700. I graduated from Columbine High School in 1978, 21 years before the shooting that took place there.

As I think back to my high school graduation and try to remember what was going through my mind at that time, what I would have wanted someone to tell me, it’s not an easy task.

My situation was a lot different than most. My dad was a pastor, and my parents had a hard and fast rule for all of us kids, our first year of college had to be at a Bible College. They had worked hard to set a solid foundation for us kids, they felt a year in Bible college would go a long way in solidifying that foundation.

We didn’t have the same rule for our kids, although our son did spend his first 2 years in 2 different Bible schools.

Our daughter went to community college and, after we moved as I begin to start life as a pastor, our daughter moved in with my sister and my brother-in-law, so she had solid people who loved her surrounding her.

Since their graduation is a lot fresher for me, it is easier for me to think, what did I want them to know.

So, here is my list, as you transition to the next level of your education:

1. Choose to live life with a higher purpose than yourself.

Elijah, since I know so much of your family, from parents to grandparents to great grandparents, to aunts and uncles and great aunts and uncles… and the list goes on, I have a good idea of the faith heritage in which you have been brought up. For some students, as they come out of high school, they carry on the faith of their family as naturally as some do with the family farm. It’s just who they are. That was me when it came to the faith I was raised in as a child. It is who I am, and while there have been times I made some wrong choices, for the most part the faith I was raised in has always been a guiding principle for me. For others, and truthfully, probably most, once they leave the confines of their upbringing, a battle takes place in the mind, especially in the area of faith and spirituality. That was the case for both Pam and our son, Steven, they had to come to the point where they made the faith of their parents there own. For Pam, this took place of the steps of the chapel at the Bible College she attended. For Steven, it took place in the mountains of Japan, where he was working on a short term mission trip, using mountain biking and rock climbing to open doors to share Christ with teens in Japan. Elijah, when I say “Choose to live life with a higher purpose than yourself”, my challenge to you is, Own your faith. Move past living in the faith of your heritage and make it your own. For the vast majority of students your age, when they leave the home to further their education or move into the career they choose, if they don’t make the faith they’ve been raised in their own, they either abandon it all together, or it becomes a ritual for them, just a checking of the spiritual box, Neither is good. Elijah, make your faith your own, this will naturally result in living life with a higher purpose than yourself.

2. Choose your friends carefully.

The friends you make as you enter this next phase of life have the potential to influence major decisions that can have a significant impact on your future, and I am not just talking about career choices. I’m also talking about choices like; “Do I go to that party I’ve been invited to on Saturday night?” To be honest, life on the east side of Kiowa County is pretty sheltered. Pretty much everyone you run in to knows both you and your family! Moving away from here can be a pretty eye opening experience. My experience wasn’t a lot different. Most of my life growing up was in small communities like this one. About the same time I went right from high school to a Bible college, my parents moved to the east coast. While it was rather difficult, all of the sudden I had this freedom to make choices without my parents knowledge, big choices. Thankfully, for the most part I was surrounded by people who had “Chosen to live life with a higher purpose than themself”. As a result, I was pushed in directions that kept me from choices that could have adversely impacted my future. The parties and activities I was invited to attend, would in no way push me in a dangerous direction. Elijah, “Choose your friends carefully”. This will go a long way in the next thing I have on my list as you move forward in life, which is;

3. Choose your activities carefully.

Assessing situations, weighing alternatives, and thinking critically are like using muscles. Flabbiness comes from disuse; strength comes through practice. The next few years are full of choices — which college (or trade) to pursue, what to study, how to pay for it, and more. It might be nice if God spoke with an audible voice at each crossroads, but that’s not been my experience. We should pray (James 1:5). We should seek counsel from trustworthy people who know us (Proverbs 15:22). We should consider where we’ve been successful and what activities we enjoy, as these point to where, over time, we might be most useful in this world for the good of others and the glory of God. Elijah, “Choose your activities carefully”.

4. Choose to live life humbly.

Elijah, I was overjoyed on Tuesday night at the awards banquet. Overjoyed to hear teacher after teacher mention your unselfish leadership. Overjoyed as I witnessed you being inducted into the National Honor Society. That is such a high honor! It is not an honor bestowed on the selfish. While you, like me and everyone else here today, are far from being flawless, your induction into the National Honor Society, tells me of an individual who has humble, unselfish characteristics. Never loose those characteristics. Pay attention for opportunities to serve others, especially at times when no one else will notice accept the individual you are serving. If our unselfish service to others is only done when we know others are watching, to be honest, its not really unselfish, and the only recognition we receive may be a pat on the back and a thank you. But if our service for others is done with a desire not to be noticed by others, the God of heaven sees, and rewards, and His rewards don’t fade like a high plains sunset. Elijah, “Choose to live life humbly”, or more accurately, continue to Choose to live life humbly.

5. Choose a good mentor.

Whether that mentor is in the trade or degree you are working towards, or some other area, choose an individual with high moral character and values. Someone who will regularly encourage you, but also someone who will lovingly grab you on the collar when you are heading in a direction you should not be going. Thankfully, with modern technology, you can have a mentor that may be in a different location, but it is even better if you can find one in Goodland KS. Elijah, Choose a good mentor. Next,

6. Choose a good church.

Goodland is far enough away that it may be challenging to come home each weekend to see family and go to church. So, unless you are certain you will come home every weekend, find a good church to be a part of when you are there. And even if you are planning on coming home every weekend, there are churches in the Goodland area that have ministries during the week specifically for college age students. This could very well be where you find a good mentor. And lastly;

7. Have fun!

But do so in a way where you won’t look back later and think…”What was I thinking!

Ok, let me close with a quick review;