A CHARGE TO THE CLASS OF 2009
Biola University graduates, Class of 2009, you have reached this milestone in your educational journey. It’s a journey that has been both exhausting and exhilarating. It’s a journey that has taken you to new heights and maybe even new depths. It’s a journey that has made you question and struggle in ways you might not have anticipated. But it’s also a journey that has ended.
As you begin the next leg of your journey, you will be joining a community of Biola alumni who are making a difference for the good, for the cause of Christ. They are working in fields and halls and offices in every corner of the globe, serving the world with conviction and courage.
I trust Biola has impressed upon you that we must take the challenges of our world seriously. We must be a light where there is darkness and a hope where there is despair. A voice of redemption for that which broken walls, what the prophet Isaiah calls a “repairer of the breach.” We must be in the world and not of it, but above all we must be FOR the world-reforming and loving it, because that’s what Christ did.
I charge you graduates to be ambassadors of Christ, upholding the biblical values of truth, integrity, sacrifice, justice and compassion. I challenge you to live selflessly. I challenge you to define yourself not in terms of what you do, who you impact or what your legacy will be. I challenge you to define yourself in Christ and in Christ alone.
[To Graduates] Graduates of the Biola University Class of 2009-As God has called you, will you commit to be a light to the world? If so, let me hear you respond by saying corporately, “We will.”
[Graduates response] We will.
[Audience] These graduates are surrounded by a company of witnesses, the thousands of guests celebrating with them today. To those of you here, I ask you to follow my charge by also saying, “we will.” So, to those who have supported these students in their journey, I ask you, will you join me in praying for and encouraging those you know in this Class of 2009 as they graduate from Biola University today?
[Audience] We will.
Biola University graduates, Class of 2009, it’s time to go now, not just to your dinners and celebrations, but it’s time to go in the spirit of the One who called you “disciples,” to a world that needs you, the love you embody, the convictions you bear, the courage you’ll muster, the wisdom and knowledge you possess. Go now to the next leg of your journey, with the hope and knowledge that indeed, to live is Christ.