Convocation and Commencement

Spring always brings the start and end to many things in life - from rain to sunshine, from hidden sprigs to blooming flowers, from seniors to graduates. Running from Zellerbach to the Greek Theater and cheering graduates and then running back to Sproul to take pictures and meeting parents and family friends and sharing a celebratory meal is all a part of this wonderful celebration. Spring is the season of change and it's so exciting to see many end this chapter of their lives. And so as we end another year of school I'm reminded of the many faces of those who have made Gracepoint and Koinonia their home for the past four years. I really consider it a privilege that I have had the opportunity to minister to many of them - eating in our home, teaching them Bible study, playing countless games and sports, joking and telling stories, taking trips and even speaking some hard truths at times; and some I've had the privilege of seeing come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. I feel so blessed seeing how their lives and ours have intertwined.  But I know that as much as this is the end of a season, it is the beginning of another.  I always thought commencement was an odd word for a graduation ceremony but over the years I have seen how it is a fitting word for graduates as they begin this new and almost real chapter of their lives.  All they learned in college is what they will take with them for almost the rest of their lives. Thinking back to a Sunday message we recently had in Mark 12, I'm reminded that all of our lives belong to God.  And I pray that the seniors can really submit their entire lives to the Lordship of Christ - from their jobs, careers, grad school, marriage, time, energy, money - so that they can personally experience God and so that God can use each of those things - degrees, money, jobs.