God spoke each one of you into existence. Wow! You bear His likeness. You are in His image. You are not God, but you resemble Him. Look carefully at the person beside you. Go ahead. Do you see the resemblance? OK. Maybe you don’t! Maybe I ought not push my luck. But that resemblance is there. And He has entrusted to you the stewardship of His wonderful creation because you yourself are wonderfully made. He also knows that you are flesh and blood.
Psalm 78:39 acknowledges that God is tender and merciful because you are but
“a passing breeze that does not return.”The imperatives in these two passages of scripture are words of authority – authority in the good sense. Jesus told the Eleven, as the
Matthew 28 text reveals, that,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (v. 18b). He authorized His followers to go and make other followers. So an authority has been granted to us to go and do the same and an authority has been given to us to, likewise, take care of the world as revealed in
Genesis 1. Each of you in the Class of 2008 has a wonderful opportunity to help take care of the world.
Advertisement
I ask you to make a difference as you go to wherever you go. Some of you will venture into the field of medicine. Others of you into the world of education. Others of you into the world of business. Others of you into the world of technology and science. Others of you into the world of the helping profession, such as ministry or counseling. Still others of you will venture into the world of the arts and fine arts. Whatever field you enter, commit to making a difference.
Whatever you do, remember that it is not about you. It is not about fulfilling the American Dream. It is about living life in such a way that other lives are touched for the good by how you live. From the Christian worldview it is about others. It is about giving one’s self to the world in need. It is about offering yourself so humanity can experience some of the blessings you’ve experienced. It is about doing good so the world can see the likeness of God in you.
Gerald L. Sittser, in his book,
Water from a Deep Well: Christian Spirituality from Early Martyrs to Modern Missionaries,
[i] notes, “The goal of life in this world is not ease, prosperity, and success.” Rather the goal of life is “intimacy with God, maturity of character, and influence in the world.” You are to understand that and if you do, you will make a difference as you influence a world that is full of needs.