Graduation Day!

by Greg Johnson

http://www.lovinggodfellowship.org

This is the graduation season where many have accomplished great things in academics. God has blessed us with the desire and ability to gain knowledge. Upon graduation, the graduate is looking at what lies ahead and seeks to answer many questions concerning what they are going to do with the rest of their life. It’s an exciting time as people move toward their destinies and purposes in their journey.

I think with this being the graduation season, it is only appropriate that we all evaluate where we are at in our journey and where we are going. Beloved, it would do us good to personally answer three questions: 1) Who are we serving? 2) Who are we following? 3) Who are we seeking honor from? Jesus said (John 12:26 NIV) "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."

We are to serve Jesus.

We all come from different backgrounds. We all have different gifts and talents. We all have different likes and dislikes. But we all have one thing in common. The commonality that draws us together is our calling. The calling on each of our life is to serve Jesus.

We are placed on this earth and are left on this earth to serve Jesus. We serve Jesus in the workplace. We serve Jesus in our schools and colleges. We serve Jesus in our neighborhoods and in our communities. We serve Jesus in the hospitals. We serve Jesus in the nursing homes. We serve Jesus in the prisons. We serve Jesus at the homeless shelters. That’s what this journey is all about; serving Jesus. When our service is complete, we get to graduate. We get to leave this earth behind and spend eternity with Jesus. Won’t that be a wonderful graduation day!

We serve Jesus by following Him.

When Jesus walked this earth, He called people to follow Him; people from all walks of life from various backgrounds, social and economic statuses. He called people from the poorest to the wealthiest to follow Him. Jesus called people that made their living as commercial fisherman to follow Him. Jesus called tax collectors to follow Him. Jesus called medical professionals to follow Him.

As people followed Jesus, they learned how to serve Him. They listened to His teachings and they observed His life. They began to do what Jesus taught and showed them. Following Jesus is so important. You see, we can not serve Him without following Him. Jesus Himself said "whoever serves me must follow me." The word "must" make this command a necessity. It is absolutely impossible to serve Jesus without following Him.

Jesus is where His servant is.

Following Jesus is so exciting and rewarding. He leads us and He guides us all along life’s way. Jesus will never leave or forsake one of His servants for He says "where I am, my servant will also be." Servants of Jesus have figured out something that is very important in life. They have come to the conclusion that Jesus will be with them no matter what comes their way as they follow Him. They understand that it’s not about following their own desires or following the world or the things of the world, and expecting Jesus to show up to take care of all of their problems when they need Him to do so. No, servants realize that Jesus will be present with them as they follow Him. It’s really pretty simple: we are to serve Jesus; to serve Jesus we follow Him; where Jesus is, His servant is also.

Those that serve Jesus will be honored.

Many honors have been passed out across the land at graduation after graduation. Academic honors. Athletic honors. Billions of dollars in scholarships have been granted. There are absolutely nothing wrong with these honors and they should be rightly distributed to those so deserving who have worked diligently on achieving their goals. But, you know what the ultimate honor is? Not to be honored by man, but to be honored by God. To be honored by the One that has created us and spoke us in existence. To be honored by the One that loves us so much that He sent His only son to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus said "my Father will honor the one who serves me."

Beloved do you know what is going to be awesome? It’s going to be awesome on our graduation day when we leave this earth and walk across the stage of heaven and hear the Words (Matthew 25:23 NIV) "’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’" Our graduation cap will be a golden crown and our graduation robe will be white and washed in the blood of the lamb. Instead of throwing our caps up in the air in celebration as graduates on earth do, we will cast our crowns at the feet of Jesus in total worship and honor of the One who gave His life so that we can have eternal life.