Susan and I made great time in a six-hour drive from Atlanta to Memphis Saturday morning. But the two-hour trip from Memphis to Little Rock took seven as a truck accident shut down the interstate. So we arrived at Jordan’s graduation from medical school just as the crowds began streaming out of the Verizon Arena. At least we got to take pictures and eat a celebratory dinner with Kinsey and Dr. Stanley.
Last week our eighth graders had a nice graduation ceremony and this week our seniors graduate. But we all know there is more to come. The eighth graders begin high school next year, the seniors become freshmen in college, and Jordan starts four years of a residency program to become an ophthalmologist.
Besides receiving a diploma and participating in a great celebration, graduation insinuates that one is ready for the next step. In a similar sense I have stressed to my Algebra students this year that my job was to get them ready for their future math courses. “If you do not master Algebra 1, there is no way to succeed in Algebra 2!” My students got tired of me saying it.
I guess Christians don’t graduate from one level to a next, but I believe God understands perfectly the progression of growth His children are to make. I wonder sometimes if we would be wise to ask what He is trying to teach us.
Before we are ready to take the Gospel to a foreign land, maybe He wants us to talk to our next-door neighbor about eternal matters. Before we are ready to capture our city for Christ, perhaps He wants us to learn to treat those in our workplace like we want to be treated. Before we are ready to do some grand act of service, maybe God wants us to obey a little thing He’s been telling us to do.
As Jeremiah complained about his difficulties, God said: “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” (Jeremiah 12:5) God knows what we need to go through before we are really ready for the next thing.
As always, Jesus is our best example. The Father even taught His only Son… and when everything was complete, the Son laid down His life for each of us.
“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” Hebrews 5:7-9