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Commencement Address June 9, 2010

David Spencer gave the commencement address at the 2010 ninth grade graduation ceremony.  He is a member of Grace Valley Christian Center, graduated from U.C. Davis and is in his last year at Harvard Law School.

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I would like to begin tonight by congratulating our graduates.  As I’ve spent time thinking this past week, I’ve identified what I think are the two principal purposes of this commencement ceremony and, at the very least, of the remarks that I’m about to give.  The first purpose is to recognize your achievements, and also the contributions and efforts of the many others who have enabled your success.  This is why family and friends have gathered from near and far to celebrate tonight.  And of course, as in all things, we ultimately direct all praise and thanksgiving to God, without whom we are nothing.  The second purpose of this address is to encourage you to take what you’ve learned and to employ it for the highest of all purposes — the glory of God.

So first, I want recognize your accomplishments.  But to do so properly requires that we recognize not only the graduates themselves, but also the many others who have made their education possible.  So graduates, I’d like to ask you to try to appreciate for a moment what a high privilege it is to have attended this academy and to have reached this milestone in your lives.

We live in an unusually privileged time and place.  America’s economic prosperity affords many children the opportunity to devote the first twenty some-odd years of their lives to education, instead of having to work to help support their families. I have to say I’m especially grateful for this, because at almost 24, I’ve spent my entire life as a full-time student, with only the exception of summers.  We also live under a political system in which we have the freedom to practice our faith and in which parents can send their children to the school of their choice, including Christian schools.  And what a rich blessing, in this spiritually dark age, to be able to attend a school whose motto is omne consilium Dei (the whole counsel of God).

So graduates, what should your response be to this high privilege?  Deep gratitude.  First, to God.  He gave you life.  He gave you minds with which to learn and understand truths about his creation.  He revealed himself to you in the holy scriptures.  And above all, he sent his Son Jesus Christ, the only way of salvation.  Second, be very grateful to your parents.  Day after day they have provided for your needs, cared for you, prayed for you, and trained you.  Next, be very thankful to Pastor and the elders of Grace Valley Christian Center.  They faithfully shepherd this flock and manage well the affairs of this church, without which GVCA would not exist.  You should also be very thankful to your principal Mr. Armstrong, to GVCA’s administrators, to all the staff and volunteers who have served as your coaches, yard supervisors, grounds crew, and janitorial staff, and to all those who have served in countless other capacities that usually go unrecognized.  All of these people make personal sacrifices to make GVCA possible.  Finally, be grateful to your teachers.  They have worked very hard to impart knowledge and godly wisdom to you.  They have prayed for you.  They have inculcated in you an understanding of what is right, and they have disciplined you when you did wrong.  They have lived exemplary lives to model for you the Christian life.  Most importantly, they have shared with you the excellencies of Jesus Christ and the necessity of entrusting your lives to him.

So how should you express your gratitude?  Most basically, you should simply say “thank you.”  As sinners we often forget to say thank you — or even to be thankful — for blessings to which we’ve become accustomed.  You could also write a thank you note or card, where appropriate.  But most importantly, you should show your thanks by building on the educational foundation you’ve been given here, and by putting into practice the godly teaching you’ve received.

And that leads to what I said is the second purpose of this address: to encourage you to take what you’ve learned at GVCA and put it to the highest use — the glory of God — as you leave this place and, in all likelihood, venture out into some corner of the spiritual wasteland that we call “the world.”  Specifically, I’d like to offer two words of encouragement.  First, be faithful to God and His commands. And second, work hard in all things and at all times.  I think I can make these two points most effectively by way of illustration.

To do so, I’m going to tell you the story of a historical figure with whom many of you are already familiar.  This person was raised among the people of God.  His parents were of high status in the community.  His young friends looked up to him; they saw him as a leader.  But when this person was a young man, God called him away from his home and church community to a far-away, pagan land.  This young man was to begin a three-year program of study at the finest school in the entire world: the King’s College.  The king’s chief court official was assigned to be his tutor.  His field of study: the language and literature of Babylon.  This young man was the prophet Daniel.  And this young man is an excellent example for us today, and particularly for you graduates.

In 605 b.c. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, impressed the young man Daniel into his service, when he led the first wave of Jewish captives into exile.  The king instructed his chief courtier to select from among the captives of Judah men fit for the king’s service, and the king’s official selected Daniel and three other young men from Judah — Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who are better known to us as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.   The pupils had just three years to master a rigorous curriculum that included all the learning of Babylon.  And even more importantly, they had to learn exactly how to serve their new boss, the king.

Yet in all this, Daniel and his friends were faithful to Yahweh, the God of Israel.  Although God called them to live and study in a thoroughly pagan place, they did not forget his commands.  Therefore, they respectfully refused to eat the food from the king’s table.  This certainly wasn’t the path of least resistance.  They could have paid with their lives for refusing the king’s cuisine.  But even the prospect of death did not deter them from obeying the Lord.  God had commanded the Israelites to be holy, as he is holy.  They were to be different from the surrounding nations.  And one of the chief distinctions was that God permitted them to eat only certain meats, and even those had to be killed and prepared in a very specified manner.  So rather than risk being served unclean meat, or the flesh of an animal sacrificed to a Babylonian idol, Daniel and his friends courageously asked for an accommodation: a diet of vegetables and water.  And God blessed them for their faithfulness.

So now, to the graduates: First and foremost, be faithful to God.  You will all face great pressures in the coming years to be unfaithful to your God.  You will leave this oasis, and you will have to study or work in a pagan place.  For some of you this will be when you begin high school next year; for others, when you go to college or get your first job.  But whenever these pressures come, I urge you to remember Daniel.  Daniel did not forget the training in God’s word that he had received as a boy.  Do not forget the training you have received at GVCA.  Live by GVCA’s motto — the whole counsel of God — even after you graduate, and God will bless you.

The pressures that confront you will very likely be different from those that confronted Daniel.  You probably won’t have to choose between your life and remaining faithful to God.  But that doesn’t make these pressures and enticements to sin any less real.  You will be tempted to conform to worldly and sinful practices.  You will be ridiculed if you don’t.  You will likely feel a desire for acceptance, a desire to fit in with your classmates or colleagues.  You could probably rationalize to yourself that many of these things aren’t sin.  You’re just being friendly and nice by keeping worldly company.  You might even think you’re being “all things to all men” when you participate in their folly or gossip.  Eventually you may even be tempted to reason that you’re only committing little sins, but that on balance you’re a pretty good Christian.  Don’t fall for these deceptions, and don’t give into these pressures!  God has called you, like Daniel, to be different.  Never compromise your faith for worldly gain.  Don’t be like Esau, and sell your birthright as a child of God for a cup of stew.  Jesus said that a man’s soul is worth far more than even the whole world!  Worldliness is a subtle temptation, but it will destroy you. 

Also, be extremely cautious about the company and fellowship you keep.  Your friends will shape how you think and behave, and what you value.  Heed the warning in Psalm 1 not to “walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.”  I’ve had the very sorrowful experience of watching friends walk away from Jesus Christ.  Almost without exception, their first step towards apostasy was a worldly friend or group of friends with whom they began spending a lot of time.  Let this be a sober warning.  As you leave this school, build solid Christian friendships, and don’t ever forsake them.  They will help protect you from going astray.  But ultimately, God alone can be your shield.  So press into him daily.  Pray fervently.  Study your Bible diligently, and be resolved to do what it says.  You see, I’ve observed that young people who forsake Christ usually drift away gradually at first.  So be very careful that you don’t even begin to drift away in the slightest.  Examine yourselves.  How is your devotional life?  And if you go to the high school next year, a good question to ask is, “who am I spending my lunchtime with?”  Is it your Christian friends?  I urge you, graduates, keep godly company.

We have already learned that God blessed Daniel for his faithfulness.  Another thing we can learn from Daniel and his friends is to work hard.  After these four young men had completed their three-year course of study the king summoned them and he spoke with them.  And it says in the scriptures that King Nebuchadnezzar “found none equal” to them.  Indeed, “in every matter of wisdom and understanding … he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.” Just three years prior these young men did not even know the language of Babylon.  Now, their wisdom vastly exceeded that of all the native Babylonian wise men, many of whom had surely long served the king.  I think we can safely infer from this that Daniel and his friends worked very hard!

So again, I encourage you to follow the example of Daniel.  God blesses hard work.  In fact, you really can’t achieve anything in life without hard work.  Search for an accomplished man who has never worked hard in his life.  Even if you look long and hard, you will not find one.  I think it is instructive that the great American inventor Thomas Edison, who surely had more than his fair share of flashes of brilliance, famously opined that “genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”  I’ve certainly found this true at every level of my academic experience.  The very best students I’ve known have usually been bright, but they’ve invariably worked hard.  This has been true of high school, college, law school, and even of the professors I’ve gotten to know.  The most successful are those who work the hardest.  But even more importantly, you should work hard because God commands it.  Laziness dishonors God.  Don’t be lazy.  Instead, God commands, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work.”  So again, work hard.

To conclude: Congratulations.  Attending GVCA is a great blessing.  Graduating from GVCA is an admirable accomplishment.  But don’t be deceived and think you’ve done it alone.  Be very grateful to God, to your parents, to Pastor and the elders, and to your teachers.  Demonstrate your thanks by living a life worthy of the godly instruction you’ve received at GVCA.  You haven’t arrived at the final destination.  This ceremony is called a commencement, which means beginning.  Or take the word “graduate.”  It connotes moving up, moving on in life.  So don’t rest on your laurels.  Take what you’ve learned at GVCA, and put it to the highest use – the glory of God.  Be a Daniel.  First, be faithful to God, whatever the consequences.  Second, work hard always.  And God will bless you.

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