Much of last night focused on you and for
good reason. It was a night that we celebrated together. You made it.
You are here after many years and you are about to graduate and step out
into a different context. As you go I
would just like to focus on your text for graduation this year. “For it is by grace you have been saved and
this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one
can boast. For we are God’s workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works which
God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Eph. 2:8-10 The verse you chose, intentionally, speaks of grace. You chose it for this reason. It is fitting as we celebrate 50 years of God’s
faithfulness and grace to DCCS.
We are asking for God’s grace to go with you now into
the future as you have goals and dreams that you hope to attain. We pray for you for God’s continued blessings
as you continue on this path and working towards those goals. You are a part of a media generation, a
generation that has told everyone can be a movie star, a rock star, and you are
entitled to be the center of your own universe. This is fed so easily by sites
like Facebook, MySpace, and other social media sites where you are the controller
of the content, you are center stage, you are it. I am not condemning these sites but I do want
you to be aware that as you grow older you will find out that it is not true.
Not everyone is going to be a celebrity or the top dog. It is
impossible for everyone to be the center.
You may even come to realize you are being lied to and you may become
increasingly ticked off about the fact you’ve been fed lies about a lifestyle
and a dream that may taste sweet for a season but will reap a harvest of loneliness. Identity rooted in success is a fragile
thing.
There is a real danger if you tie your identity to
your success. If your identity and value
is wrapped up in a title or what you accomplish, if you put your hope in your
own strength and talents then you set yourself up for disappointment. When we replace the true center of the
universe with ourselves we repeat the rebellion in the Garden of Eden. Be conscientious of turning this world, your
life, upside down: serving God first, then others and then yourself.
Your identity belongs and should be rooted in the
fact that you are made in the image of God.
Our identity belongs rooted in Christ as it states in your text; we are
God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.
Grace is not performance based. Right before your grad text it speaks of
being dead in our transgressions. We are
alive, yet we are dead in sin. You see, it is aparadox; the living dead. The dead can do nothing for themselves. Now, as your text highlights, you are dead to
sin and alive in Christ. It is God,
through Christ Jesus, that you experience life.
It defines life. It defines who
you are. We are defined by the act of
Grace through Christ. Life is not
defined by your achievements, your grades, your awards. You are freed from this. It is a life giving message and freeing to
know your identity is rooted in him
We do celebrate tonight the gifts God has given
you. As part of our mission statement we
want those gifts to be developed. We do
take the time to celebrate those mountain top experiences but we develop them
for a purpose. We develop them so you
will be continually prepared for a life of Christian Service. When living a life of service your identity
is firmly rooted in serving their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, our example
Now with our identity firmly set let’s take a little
closer look at grace.
Grace has consequences. We are called to do good
works, to transform lives. This is the
heart of a life of Christian Service; we respond to the life giving message of
God’s grace. You are starting to live
that out already. Your trips to the Good
Shepherd have the fingerprints of grace all over it. God has made each one of us and we are called
to extend that to others so that they may experience the grace of God through
our lives.
I encourage you, graduates, to be available with
your gifts to be moved by the Spirit to do amazing things in God’s Kingdom and
show His grace in this world.
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