Serving speech, part 3

Part 3 of my dad's speech to the high school students at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School on Monday, October 22:

I am proud of my heritage here at CD, with my father teaching here from ’60 to ’88, my wife Chris and I graduated in ’63 and my two children graduating here.  I also had 5 siblings go here, I have always felt attached.   My daughter, Cindy,  graduated in ’87, is married to John King who spent several years as guidance counselor here at Dock.  He is now pasturing a church in Mechanicsburg, PA, near Messiah College and they are the parents to 8 children.  My son, Chad, graduated from CD in ’91 and is a professor at Butler  University in Indianapolis, IN and father of 2 children.  I am blessed with 10 grandchildren who Chris and I have and will continue to enjoy.  Grand parenting is a blast!  We love to serve our children and grandchildren in whatever ways we can but it is even more of a joy to see them following God’s direction for their lives and to see them serving Him, allowing His glory to be shown in their lives.  Sometimes my grandchildren challenge me by their ability to trust God at a much younger age than I.

Our oldest grandson is now in college.  At his graduation from Mechanicsburg High School  this past June, he challenged his classmates with this story:

There is a popular story of a man who was walking along a beach.  The night before the tide had washed thousands upon thousands of starfish onto the shore and had then receded, leaving them to die upon the beach.  As he continued to walk, he came across a boy who was throwing starfish back into the sea one by one.  Realizing the futility of his meager attempts to save the starfish, he said to the boy, “You know you can’t possibly make a difference in the lives of all these starfish.  The boy looked at the man, picked up another starfish, then replied “Yes, but I can make a difference to this one,” before throwing it into the sea. 

Andrew shared, with all his peers in front of him that his parents and grandparents were where he learned all of his values and morals and how they impressed on him to look for and take care of the downtrodden, the disenfranchised, the starfish, of our society.   This has always been one of my joys in life and to hear our grandson give this challenge to his high school peers was a tear jerker.  I know, like me, many of you have no idea what you will be doing in life after high school, but take the challenge from me and know that it is not that important that we know what we will be doing but that we follow a God who cares about us and if we develop a close relationship with him He will direct us into a career that even you may not even be thinking about at this time in your life.  He will guide you into experiences and circumstances that will enable you to better reflect His glory.  God is always teaching and directing us through life.  It is not always easy to follow and understand.  But I am here to say today that it is important to trust and follow God’s plan for our life.

I believe, as a follower of Jesus, we are to humbly serve the interests of others.  Paul, the apostle, says in Phil. 2:3 & 4 “Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others.  Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.  Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing.”  When we focus our lives on the example of Jesus, we learn to consider others’ needs more important than our own.  There’s an old hymn that goes like this,

#1             More like the Master I would ever be, more of His meekness, more humility;

More zeal to labor, more courage to be true, more consecration for work He bids me do.

 #2         More like the Master is my daily prayer; More strength to carry crosses I must bear;

            More earnest effort to bring His kingdom in; More of His Spirit, the wanderer to win.

 #3         More like the Master I would live and grow; More of His love to others I would show;

            More self-denial, like His in Galilee, More like the Master I long to ever be.

What do you want to be in life?  God does have a plan.  Allow him to lead you, even at this time in your life when you have no clue.  Trust Him.  Serve Him.  Reflect His light and glory.  God bless you all.