The Next Step

May 31, 2019 (Friday)
From Kindergartens to graduate schools, people are receiving diplomas and degrees at this time of the year. The word, “graduate,” is derived from Proto-Indo-European root *ghredh- “to walk, go.” It is also related to the Latin “gradus,” a step, as on a ladder. In other words, it is an action word, not just a status word. It begs the question, “What are you going to do now?”
My son, Dwight, graduated from pre-school classes with a cap and robe as impressive as could be. He and his siblings all hold degrees today. My first graduation was from the sixth grade, marking the end of elementary school days and the beginning of Junior High School, or, as today, “Middle school.” I received an autograph book, and asked everyone I ever knew, and a few I did not know, to sign it. Most everyone put some kind of note in the book along with their signature. I still have it somewhere I’m sure. When I graduated from high school, I got classmates to sign our yearbook. We mark our trails through life.
We take progressive steps all through our lives. We leave the past behind and embrace the future. We move from “student” to “graduate,” from “single” to “married,” from “self” to “parent.” And so it goes, all through life there is that next step we will take.
In 1976, Gail Sheehy published “Passages,” a study of how we change throughout our lives. It is still popular today, because it demonstrates how to use each challenge as an opportunity for creative change and growth toward one’s full potential.
The Apostle Paul had a simple view of his own life. It was divided into only two parts: 1. Before his encounter with Christ and 2 . After his encounter with Christ. He was instantaneously changed and was never again the same.
His view of life is commended to all of us: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14 NIV). As long as he lived, he was moving forward. His was a “purpose-driven life.” Rick Warren wrote a book about that and millions of people were helped by it. In it, he said that the quest for personal fulfillment, satisfaction, and meaning can only be found in understanding and doing what God placed you on Earth to do.
The question for any graduate today is, “What’s your next step?” Perhaps the Lord is asking you the very same question.