On this weekend, Cook County High School seniors are graduating. Congratulations are in order as they complete this important milestone!
No doubt there is plenty of excitement as these young adults anticipate greater freedom and new opportunities. Many are eager to do some traveling, enter the work world or go on to further schooling.
Naturally, there is some uncertainty and anxiety as they face the future. They may be wondering: What do I want to do with my life? Am I ready to leave home? Will I be able to make new friends and find my way as I move forward?
Parents, too, may have some anxiety as the seniors enter a new stage of life. They ask themselves: Have I taught them what they need to know? Are they ready to be more independent? What is my role now that my child is moving into adulthood?
Of course it’s not only graduates and their parents who experience the mixed feelings that come during times of transition. From the moment a baby leaves the womb, through childhood, adulthood, retirement and old age, there are many changes to negotiate!
Despite the uncertainties of life, I believe that it is possible to face the future with both realism and hope! As a follower of Jesus Christ, my hope rests in the knowledge that there is a Creator who knows me, who loves me, and offers me a life full of meaning and purpose. A few passages from Scripture illustrate this.
The writer of Psalm 139 conveys confidence in God’s knowledge of him: “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head… You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.”
The psalmist certainly expresses joy in being created and known by God! He affirms that we are not here on earth by chance, but that we are uniquely fashioned by God and known individually.
Along with this, Scripture also tells us that God loves us. When Jesus lived on earth, he demonstrated God’s love for us in many ways: by offering compassion, healing, teaching and, most profoundly, his very life. This is stated in the well-known passage from John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
Another passage, John 10:1- 10, describes Jesus’ tender care for his followers. Jesus says: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father —and I lay down my life for the sheep.” Further on, Jesus contrasts his intentions with those who desire to harm people: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
In this passage we learn of Jesus’ sacrificial love for us! We also hear of his desire to give us life, life that is abundant, full of meaning and satisfaction, in relationship with him. We are not guaranteed a life that is easy, or pain-free or comfortable, but life that is abundant because of the forgiveness and mercy and grace that Jesus offers.
Let’s look at one more passage that relates to God’s purposes for us. In Jeremiah 29:11-13 God is quoted as saying: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”
While these words were originally spoken to the people of Israel when they were living in exile, I believe that God here expresses a desire for all people— that they have a future with hope! And how does that come about? God promises to respond positively when people return to him, acknowledging their need of God’s help: “Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me…” This passage assures us that when we wander away, God patiently calls us back into relationship with himself.
In the midst of all of the changes and challenges in life, all of us—graduates, parents, and the rest of us—can be encouraged by this: the One who created us also knows us, loves us, and desires to give us a future that is full of meaning and hope! Each week a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This week our contributor is Pastor Deborah Lunde of Zoar Lutheran Church.
Leave a Reply