Graduation Speech

Exactly a decade after Aaron and I graduated together for the first time (from High School), we graduated together again today! We are now finished with our first phase of training with New Tribes Mission. We finished our two-year course at New Tribes Bible Institute, and it has been the best-spent two years of our life...by far.

 (Rachel, Nathan, Aaron, Me)

Aaron was privileged to be voted by our class as a class speaker for graduation. He did an awesome job, and I wanted to share his speech here on our blog.

So without further ado...Aaron's graduation speech: 

Not long ago, I sat face to face with a wise old man. This man was living on the razor’s edge between this life and the next, not to mention he’s an alleged Italian mob boss…from Jersey. In fact, he’s probably sitting here in this room. Anyway, what he told me in that conversation will probably stick with me until I’m his age…some 70 short years from now.

He said, “The teaching and training here at the Bible school is not preparing you to live in “the real world”…instead, you are being equipped to minister the gospel of grace in this temporary, fleeting, condemned-to-destruction world in preparation for the actual real world--the life to come.”

Allow me to say that one more time. Listen carefully: “The teaching and training here at the Bible school is not preparing you how to live in “the real world”…instead, you are being equipped to minister the gospel of grace in this temporary, fleeting, condemned-to-destruction world in preparation for the actual real world--the life to come.”

I believe that the Apostle John has a message that is precisely what you and I and our loved ones with us today need to hear. In 1^stJohn 2:15-17, he gives incredibly clear and sobering instruction--along with a warning--to believers whom he loved and cherished when he said this--  “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, within each one of us graduating today, there exists a mysterious draw and longing--a pull at our very being. If we were to be honest, we would have to admit that this world’s desires tempt us, even after having received much truth from the Word. We want to be a part of this great mission to see those who have yet to hear the gospel finally have an opportunity. However, through influences rooted in our flesh and encouraged by those outside and even from within our own families, we are left to doubt that serving God will be as joyous and worthwhile as He says it is.

Picture this. A young boy has a dream that he cannot get out of his mind. His dream: to own a fire truck. His parents don’t necessarily tell him it can’t be done; after all, for the right amount of money, you can buy most anything. However, they understand because they’re older and wiser, that no adult actually buys a fire truck. Cities and towns buy fire trucks, but that’s because they need them. Nevertheless, the boy grows into a young man and decides to pursue this dream. After all, this dream has consumed his thoughts for a decade. His parents can’t believe he actually wants to go through with it, but they are supportive of their son so they float him some money to get the dream on its way. He takes the cash, moves to Chicago, and buys a small building on the edge of town. He paints the building fire engine red and installs the 14’ overhead doors needed to accommodate his fire truck. The man takes a corner of the building and converts it into living quarters. He goes online and purchases fire-resistant gear along with a radio that picks up the local signal of the emergency dispatcher. The parents of this dreamer are so impressed with his seriousness and dedication to his dream that they surprise him by funding a two-year course at New Lives Fire Institute. The training equips him in the techniques and strategies of firefighting. Two years later, he graduates. He gets the approval by the city to move into the building that he has renovated and sets up “shop”. The young man is now 22 years old, licensed, equipped and trained to fight fires. He sits back and glories in his accomplishment. After all, most of his peers don’t have near the dedication to pursue their dreams. In the middle of his wonderment, a call comes across the radio. “House fire engulfing two homes at the corner of Mueller and McCormick Place and spreading quickly…” However, instead of rushing to the intersection to fight this fire, he just sits with his feet up, relaxing—while the homes and bodies burn. The emergency call triggers his memory of all the training he’d received. He remembers learning how to drag victims out of the smoke and fire with an oxygen mask in order to spare their lives. He remembers the day he learned how to resuscitate a child without causing them further harm. All of these memories come flooding back, yet he sits there—idle-- useless—refusing to put into practice what he has spent years being trained to do.

I wrote this analogy not to condemn us, but to challenge us. My prayer for you, my fellow students, is that you would each carefully consider what God would have you do with the specialized training of His Word that you are now responsible for as you sit here today. By God’s grace, we have been able to sit under the spotlight of the Word as it illuminates who God is, who we are, and what we are to do in light of these two truths. As you consider your next step in life, realize that it is no longer you who lives, but Christ in you. Don’t be the man with the fire truck and all the specialized equipment and training who sits numb to the emergency call warning of eternal danger. Use your training in the Word for its intended purpose—to bring people everywhere to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Remember, this is the not real world, but an existence that is fading away. If you choose to strive after the world’s desires, many of you will probably succeed and end up having lived a very “full life”, but one that is full of useless and temporary things bought in a world condemned to destruction. Instead, embrace the privilege that we as graduates have been given to be able to pour out our lives in this temporary world because the only living God, through His Word, has shown us the Real world.

Thank you.