Today's blog posting is a reprint of a Valedictorian Speech that one of our students at First Baptist Church delivered during his graduation ceremony at The Master's Academy. Peter has become a real spiritual leader among his peers. He is kind, generous, helpful, and wanting to become more like Christ. To Peter and our other graduating seniors, we say: "Congratulations on reaching this significant milestone, and may our Lord richly bless you!" Here's what Peter had to say:
Conformity is defined as the action or behavior in association with socially accepted standards. As we have been growing up we have been living according to the standards that our parents and our schools have set up, but as we leave this place and our families, what are we going to conform to? Is it going to be what society says is acceptable and do what everyone else is doing or are we going to strive to be different, to be a light in this already darkening world?
We live in a time where it is no longer the individual but the group. People are classified by what group they follow not by what they; themselves, have done. We have to break the cultural norms and not be just another group, but individuals that have a love for what they do and a desire to serve God with the gifts He has given us. If the cultural norms cannot be broken, then we have to be a group that is different from the rest. A group that isn’t here in world with all its desires but one that is laden with the truth of scriptures. As Christians, we are called to be different. To live a life apart from the world. A life that is full of sacrifice and enrooted in Christ. Luke 9 says that we are to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily and follow Christ. At times that might seem hard to do but we have to remember that this life is temporary along with its pleasures, but living for God brings rewards that are eternal, beyond the here and now.
As we go into the university world, I hope that we don’t believe in the false teachings of some of the teachers and their ideologies, but rather we believe in what Christ teaches. As we listen in class we have to ask ourselves; “Is what the professor saying based in Scripture or is it a part of his worldview?” There are going to be those who go against the Bible, teaching what they see is right, but we must remain in the Word. Colossians 2:8-10 says: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.”
As we are in the work place we are going to be bombarded with ridicule because of what we believe, I pray that we won’t lose faith because of it but rather we would be a testimony to those around us. Not being like everyone else but different. Different because we all possess different gifts, that make us unique. We aren’t to squander these gifts but use them to the full extent possible.
So what are we going to do? Are we going to be like everyone else in the world or are we going to be different? Taking what we know and our gifts and using them to bring glory not to ourselves but to God.
I want to thank the parents for the upbringing that they have given us and the influence they have been. I also want to thank the teachers for making sure that we were provided with and education that’s foundation was the Bible.
... Guys, we made it!!