Made For This Moment
Redemptive agents of change in a world of chaos
I had the privilege of speaking at the Rafiki Foundation’s classical Christian school in Zambia on the occasion of their annual graduation ceremony. In my speech, I sought to challenge and encourage all those graduating to faithfully utilize the moments God has given them. I hope reading this speech will encourage you to seize the moments God calls us to steward.
Good morning.
I consider it a great privilege and joy to be a part of this special occasion today.
While this is a special moment of celebration and anticipation for all of you, this is also moment in which we ought to remember what all moments are for. This is a moment to think through the value of life and how we will spend the proceeding moments of our lives the minute we exit these doors. It is important that you all understand that the moments of life given to us as soon as we leave this place are moments that matter with eternal significance. These are moments that will influence the trajectory of your lives and they must be spent wisely, fearlessly, freely, and gloriously. Imagine that, living lives full of glory and when it's all said and done, dying gloriously. Moments really do matter and I am here to remind you that you were made for this precise moment. What do I mean by this?
Well…
How often do we consider ourselves the victims rather than the victors of the times we live in? We look at the world around us and see it burning; in rapid decline. We witness brazen expressions of evil as godlessness launches a relentless and violent attack on everything that God has called good.
Families are falling apart through broken marriages. Attempts from the world to redefine marriage to mean something that devils delight in are evident.
Scores of people believe in lies and remain ignorant of the truth. Many shake their fists at God, attempting to live their lives with no accountability.
Aggressive attempts to tarnish and redefine that which is beautiful and glorious have soiled people’s sensibilities regarding aesthetics and modesty.
In this country and across the African continent, countless communities are plagued by severe poverty and destitution. Corruption is enabled by those charged to uphold the law and preserve civil order. This is a continent in desperate need, engulfed in darkness, celebrating vice while normalizing shameless expressions of evil.
We often resign ourselves to being mere spectators and survivors amidst this great collapse but we must ask ourselves if this what we were made to do. Were we made to be mere spectators and survivors? Is God really writing a story about how His people were called to be spectators who barely survived the rot? Do you really believe this is the kind of story the Sovereign Ruler of all is writing at this moment?
Engaging this broken world is inevitable; it can’t be avoided. For those graduating today, it is imperative to understand the kind of world that awaits you out there. Ultimately, you have three options for how you will engage this sort of world. Firstly, you can add to the rot by letting your sin enslave you and become just like the world. Secondly, you can sit idly and not participate in neither virtue or vice, just watching in silence, in the name of minding your business. Or thirdly, you could be the one to glorify God by being the solution to the problems and being the one to bring about redemption and restoration in the madness. These are your options.
For some of you, graduating from this institution and entering a new season of life may tempt you to think of this as an opportune time to finally do whatever your hearts desire and to live as you please without rules and boundaries. If this is how you perceive this moment, there is a good chance that you have believed a similar lie that the serpent told Eve in the garden of Eden. The illusion sold to her, was that freedom lies is doing whatever one pleases when, in fact, freedom lies is doing what we were created to do. Freedom is not about living unto ourselves but living for the glory of God. True freedom is found within the confines of God’s holy law. Slavery is found anywhere outside God’s law. Whenever we think of God’s law, we tend to think of countless rules that suck the joy out of life, when in fact, the only thing that God’s law restricts is our sin. In the garden of Eden, God ultimately gave Adam and Eve just one boundary that they violated: "Do not disobey me."
We are beings who function on the basis of what we worship, and when this is misplaced, we are incapable of functioning appropriately. It must be understood, that those who practice unbridled licentiousness tend to find freedom elusive. Those who live to appease their appetites only live as helpless slaves to their warped desires. If you possess the wrong notions about freedom, you will be like those who only add to the rot of this world. You become a part of the problem. Part of a world that is decaying.
Much of what you have been taught at Rafiki has served to provide you with the truth that if embraced, produces both freedom and fruitfulness in and through you. If you ever would like to know whether an idea or practice is truthful, ask whether or not it is freeing and fruitful. Truth will always produce freedom and fruitfulness. In learning the classical virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, you were being taught to be free from vice and given the tools to help you stay clear of falling prey to its allure. Embracing the truths that lie within these virtues is an inoculation against being corrupted. More than just enabling your freedom, learning these ideals was meant to instill in you qualities that are necessary for being salt and light in this world, for being an impenetrable city on a hill, for being a godly shaper of godly culture.
This is what you were made to be: you were made to be a shaper and builder of godly cultures. The reason we look back into history and acquaint ourselves with the ideas, literature, and practices of the ancient world is so that we can learn from their successes and failures toward employing truth, beauty, and goodness as a means to building godly cultures. In building godly cultures, we are establishing Christ’s kingdom here on earth. This is all about establishing the greatest kingdom on earth: The kingdom of Christ.
Many of you may be tempted to excuse yourself from this because you are young, believing that this season of your life, according to the dogma of your peers, is one in which pleasure ought to be be divorced from responsibility. Do not be tempted by such folly. God has far bigger plans for you than the dogma of your peers or of the world. In a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to a young man named Timothy, he said this: “Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.” God has a high calling for young people, and we need to embrace that. Have you ever thought about the fact that the two books of the Bible where qualifications for church leaders are provided are books that are written to young people? Or have you considered that a young man, David, was the one who took down one of Israel's most formidable enemies in Goliath? Perhaps we have believed the lie that we aren’t capable of doing much as young people when in fact, we are.
And so as you make this transition into a new phase of life, remember what God made you to be and to do. Remember that you exist to glorify and enjoy Him forever. Remember that you are meant to be a godly culture builder by propagating truth, beauty, and goodness in all things. Remember that through you, God is establishing His kingdom here on earth.
The world is languishing in its sin; do not languish with it. Flee the lusts and desires that young people are prone to indulging in. Kill your own sin and then ride out with courage to meet God’s enemies in daily battle. Win the battle for your minds by immersing yourself in and living out the Truth. Win the battle for your hearts by delighting in beauty; being enthralled by that which is glorious. Win the battle of your wills by loving and pursuing that which is noble and good. Win these necessary battles by being a light and an ambassador of our Holy King. Win these battles by living with a deep sense of hope and joy. Where devils complain, laugh loudly. Where the world breaks, aim to build. Where the world fears, aim to be fearless. Where the world sows lies, always tell the truth. Where the world values the ugly, aim to create beauty. Where the world celebrates evil, joyfully celebrate that which is good. Where the world murders, aim to give and protect life. Where the world attempts to sow childishness in young adults, embrace maturity and responsibility. Where the world lives to consume, aim to produce, serve, and be generous. Where the world impoverishes, aim to be fruitful. Where the world bows to various idols, fear God and Him alone. This is how we win! Christ the King is victorious, and He calls you to live in that victory with Him by being faithful in the calling He has given you.
The chaos around us is your mission field. God made you precisely for this moment. He intentionally did not place you in another time period because this is the one that He made you for. The evil dragons in our day and age are yours to fight and conquer. The godlessness among your peers is your mess to address. The only real question is, will you stand and be counted for this duty?
Through Classical Christian Education, you have heard what it means to be free, but now you must go to proclaim it to others and live out freedom in every single area of your lives. Through Classical Christian Education, you have learned the attributes of virtue, but now you have the responsibility to go and sow these virtue in others. Through Classical Christian Education, you have learned the value of wisdom, but now you must go and apply it at home, in your places of higher learning, in your places of work, in your churches, and in your neighborhoods. Through Classical Christian Education, you have learned to be a builder of people, of cities, and of nations. The principles you have learned may seem insignificant, but when applied faithfully, they achieve great things.
We must reckon with the truth that life is short, but so often our youthful folly is one that leaves us prone to undermining this truth. The great duty of living your life for God is one you are not promised the next 60 years to build. What if God only gives you the next one, five, or ten years to live for and serve Him? This moment is the only one that is guaranteed. Make it count. Live by faith in what Christ has accomplished on behalf of those who believe in Him and strive to glorify and enjoy Him forever. This is our chief end.
How must we conclude?
You are in a story. One that God has been writing since the beginning. You are an ordinary character in this big story and one whose life matters to God and in the narrative that He is unfolding. You are currently at a critical point in this story as you finish high school and essentially transition to adulthood. In this moment, and many others like it, you have been gifted with a pen to write out the sort of character you will be and the sort of decisions you will make going forward. You can either choose to glorify the Creator of this story or attempt to glorify your sinful desires. You can either choose to live your life serving Christ or serve His enemies with your sin and silence.
I pray that you will be the sort of characters that perplex God’s enemies and that go on to make an indelible difference in the spaces you inhabit. I pray that you will go on and disturb the world's agenda to destroy by being a builder of truth, beauty, and goodness. I pray that you will all be characters that when all is said and done will hear the words from our King: “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Now enter the joy that is set before you.”
Let’s make every moment of our lives count in a manner that will echo gloriously for eternity.
Thank you, and may God bless you all.