CATCH Grad 2020 take 2

We live in a day and time that is changing before our very eyes. The market and economy are changing, the way we operate as a society is changing, and the way businesses and lives function are changing.

You are graduating at a very unique time in history. A time where it appears there is great divide and confusion, and much fear and trepidation about the future.

And yet, you are not helpless, and you shouldn’t be hopeless.

You are positioned, poised, and have been prepared and equipped by parents who were willing to do something difficult and sacrifice so that you would flourish in the midst of difficult times. Your parents chose to home-school you, even in the midst of criticism, questioning, and confused stares, because they knew that is what was best for you and felt that is what God had planned for you.

You were home-schooled before home-schooling was cool. Or maybe it was already cool, and some people just hadn’t figured it out yet.

As you sit here today, DO NOT neglect to acknowledge the sacrifices your parents have made to make this happen.

It was due to their sacrifices that you are equipped to not just survive, but flourish as things in our world continue to shift and change.

Let me challenge you to not forget your past. Your past, the good and the bad, has shaped you. It has made you who you are today, and it’s those experiences, moments, and people that will keep you grounded and help you to make wise choices as you continue schooling, start a career, start a family, live on the mission field, or go wherever God leads you.

If you want clarity about the future, you need to see it through the lens of your past. Don’t forget the past.

I’m sure lately, you’ve had a lot of conversations about the future. That tends to happen around paramount moments in life. To look to the future, while you remember the past, you can’t live in the past. Living in the past will only stop you from having hope for the future. While remembering the past, you need to have HOPE FOR THE FUTURE.

In the midst of the craziness that is our world today, let me say that your future’s look bright. As I mentioned, you have been blessed to be given tools and skills that many people your age haven’t been given.

To get a firm grasp on the future, let’s take a quick look at a piece of scripture that has likely never been used in a graduation ceremony before.

James 4:13–15 NASB95

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”

Life is short. James writes that “you are just a vapor”. Are you encouraged? Here’s what we need to know. James doesn’t say to not plan for the future, or to not have hopes and dreams.

What he is pointing out is that life is short, and when you are dreaming and hoping and planning, don’t leave God out. We tend to get narrow focused and lose sight of the big picture. Especially when we start thinking about the future. We think we have unlimited time and are guaranteed a good solid 75 years of life.

And maybe you will, or maybe you won’t. But the reality is, whether you live 75 years or die unexpectedly at a young age, life is short in comparison with eternity.

It was just yesterday you were a toddler, your parents blinked, and now you’re graduating.

So, regarding your future there’s something you need to consider first. You may not be guaranteed tomorrow here, but you are promised an eternity somewhere. The question is where will you spend it? And so when you consider your future, first and foremost you need to make sure your eternity is secured. You need to insure that you have placed your trust and life in Jesus Christ, for the hope of salvation and eternal life. Life is a vapor. When you’re considering your future, make sure your ultimate future doesn’t hang in the balance first. Everything else is secondary.

Then what it sounds like James is saying in this verse is that when you make plans, consider God’s plan. Invite him into your situation, and allow him to shape you and the plans you make.

This pause to consider God in all things, helps insure you make wise choices, healthy choices, and most importantly God honoring choices for your future.

Don’t forget the past, Hope for the future

Don’t live in the past, Do not worry about the future, don’t stress over how things will be or won’t be. And also don’t allow yourself to get caught in the trap of dreaming so much that you cease to live today. When we stress about tomorrow, or focus too much on the future, and when we live in the past, we tend to neglect today.

While you are remembering the past and hoping for the future, Live today. With a past that is behind you, and a future that is secure in Christ, you can have a remarkable today. You have TODAY. Be present in the moments you have. Be present with the people, in the places, in the experiences you are in.

Today is yesterday’s future and tomorrow’s past. Make today what you hoped for yesterday, and something you can look back on tomorrow with joy.

Make the most of the time you have. That is best done by being present in the moment. Put down the technology, and be where you are, with who you are with. That is how you make memories and build a future.

Don’t forget the past, Hope for the future, Live in the present.

We applaud you for what you have accomplished. And we all are excited to see what God is going to do in and through you as He leads you forward into this next part of your journey.