This morning when I woke up, the world felt a little
different. As I sat eating my breakfast
alone at Fort Zion, I suddenly felt like I was sitting at the table with the
world rushing around me in warp speed. I
imagined my household brothers going about their days, walking through the
hallway and kitchen, goofing around in the living room. All the while, I continued to go about my day
per usual feeling as though everything was suddenly moving much faster than I
was capable. It was as if I was living
in a completely different world than them.
And honestly, it brought a lot of sorrow because I realized: All my friends
are leaving.
Granted, most of you are just heading home for the summer
and will be back in the fall. But the
group of friends I’ve run with for the past four years is approaching a new
stage in life. Today, is graduation day,
which means the day has come for us to finally change course a little bit. For some, you’ll be right back in the
classroom in the fall. Others are
starting your careers. Some will stay nearby. Still others are moving further away. Our paths have always looked a little
different, but for at least a time in our lives, they've touched.
The past four years have been marked by countless moments of
joy, bliss, and laughter. There has been
generosity, service, and memories galore.
We’ve shared meals together, prayed together, and even played together. We’ve had spontaneous parties because…well, “any
excuse to party”, right?
We joined a mission together and lived our lives according to
one singular aim: to bring Jesus to a campus that desperately needs Him. First, we were called to this life. Then we began to live it. But just living it wasn’t enough unless other
people had that same opportunity. So we
invited others into that life. It was
trying and difficult at times. Rejection
was not uncommon. Sometimes, we would
sacrifice our time and get nothing in return. But every life changed because of the “yes”
someone gave was worth all the difficulty. And, ultimately, it was the least we
could do for all the people who said “yes” before us so we would have the
opportunity to lay down our lives, too.
I am personally grateful for all of you and even more
grateful that God brought us all together for this time in our lives because,
ultimately, we did not choose one another, but God chose us to lead, teach, and
protect our way of life as friends. We’ve
faced difficulty and challenges together.
It was in the midst of difficulty, however, that we were able to forge a
strong foundation and cultivate even richer, more authentic relationships with
one another because those relationships were built not on friendships alone,
but they were rooted in Someone greater than us.
We’ve lived life together and we’ve lived it well. And at the center of it all has been
love. In a world marked by pride and
selfishness, we’ve come to know a man named Jesus Christ, who is Love. He showed us how to serve and how to pray. He showed us what generosity looks like. He
exhorted us to “spend and be spent for the salvation of souls” (2 Cor 12:15)
and then showed us how to do that.
As we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension, I can’t help but
seek parallels to this stage in our lives.
Jesus lived life well with his apostles.
In many senses, our lives have mirrored the lives they lived. And what marked the pinnacle of Jesus’s
life? His death and resurrection. He had to leave his apostles and he knew it. But before he did, he exhorted them that it
was better that he go (John 16:7). Jesus didn’t say it would be okay that he go. He said that it would be better for them that he would go because he needed to go in order
to send the Holy Spirit to them.
Today marks the end of what has been an incredibly blessed
season of life. But today is also a new
beginning for us all. It is far better
that we go our own way because people around the world still don’t know Jesus
and we need disciples outside of just Ohio State. The past four years have seemed at times like
an eternity, but really they have only built a foundation for us to stand on
for the rest of our lives. We have
encountered the Holy Spirit in a way that has prepared us for whatever trials
we may face going forward. We’ve also
seen the rich fruit that comes from sharing our way of life with others. I think we can all agree that we want others
to share in that fruit as well.
I’d like to imagine what Jesus would say to us if he was to
give us one more exhortation before our journeys part. Then I realize, he already has:
“Go,
therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
that I have commanded you. And behold, I
am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Lastly, today is not a goodbye. It’s an “I’ll see you later”.
