Grace Church-Burlington

"The man who graduates today and stops learning tomorrow is uneducated the day after." Newton D. Baker

This morning we are honoring all of our graduates, particularly our high school graduates. Graduation is a sign of achievement and success. It’s an exciting time, a time that our graduates have looked forward to for years. No doubt they’ve often said, "I can’t wait until I graduate because then I will be able to _________." Guess what? That time is now.

Graduation though is a step, not a stop. Too many young people peak in high school or even college. For the remainder of their days, they look back at those educational years as the highlight of their life. How sad! That somehow those days of immaturity, dependence upon their parents and roller coaster emotions were the best days of their life is nothing short of a tragedy. They have written the final chapter when they are really only in the introduction.

It is so important though to now make wise, godly choices. John Greenleaf Whittier, one of our most astute poets, wrote: "For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: "It might have been!" That’s what regret is all about. The world is full of people who regret having thoughtlessly chosen the wrong path. Life is a series of forks in the road. It’s a series of decisions, some more important than others, of course. But the choices are up to us and the consequences of those choices belong to us also.

Wise are the words of Solomon, "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth..." (Ecclesiastes 12:1). What Solomon’s saying is that we don’t have all the time in the world. It may seem that way when we’re young, but life is brief. Youth is the prime time to find God. Cultivating faith takes time. People can come to faith in their latter years, but usually with considerable regret over a life wasted on things that didn’t matter.

Each of us needs to make the most of life before it’s too late. Solomon’s depiction of our mortality isn’t a threat, simply a reminder. Before the flame of life burns out we need to grasp the meaning of life, to know God, His will, and live with a sense of urgency. Some people who’ve reached their senior years admit they’ve missed the point of life, but often with regret, they’re unwilling to turn to God because it’s "too hard to change." it’s not too late though. "Remembering our Creator" means we drop our self-sufficiency and commit our lives to Him. We surrender our plans and priorities to God.

But why should we remember our Creator? Because He made us. That’s what the word Creator means. As the Psalmist said, "Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His" (Ps. 100:3). God made your body, your soul, your thought life, your mind...He has made everything. Often in the simple things of life, we take for granted that God is our Creator.

Remembering God though does not mean merely thinking about Him once in awhile. It means relating to Him, walking with Him, discovering Him, learning to know Him while you are young. Solomon gives us two excellent reasons for this.

First, "before the days of trouble come." Old age is setting in. One of the characteristics of old age is that we lose our ability to change and to learn new things; we are subjected to greater pressures. Those days become "days of trouble." We are continually surrounded by temptation. It’s subtle and it’s powerful. The appeal of the world and the flesh is constantly with us, turning countless Christian young people away from the truth of God. And it gets worse the older you grow. The pressures to conform are greater as you move out into life and business; when you become parents, when you become breadwinners and have to establish homes. The pressures to conform, to fit in with all the ways of the world, will be far more intense than they are when you are still in high school or college. Evil pressures increase; that is one good reason to remember your Creator in the days of your youth.

Second, your motivations are highest now. Solomon says the days are coming "when you will say, ‘I find no pleasure in them’." The day will too quickly come when you will say, "I'm not motivated at all." One of the signs of being old is an unwillingness to change. Too often I’ve observed the tragedy of people who have acknowledged the fact that they’d missed the secret of life, but they were unwilling to change simply because it was so hard to do so when they were old. This is why Solomon exhorts young people, "Learn about God now. Learn the Scriptures now, when you are young, while motivation is high and evil pressures are fewer."

Someone insightfully wrote, "First I was dying to finish high school and start college. And then I was dying to finish college and start working. And then I was dying to marry and have children. And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough for school so I could return to work. And then I was dying to retire. And now, I'm dying... and suddenly I realize I forgot to live." For far too many that is the outcome of their lives. The avoidance of that tragic end is to take those words of Solomon to heart , "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth..."

Congratulations Graduates! We’re very proud of you and will be praying for you!