2025 brings another life milestone, with our eldest child graduating from high school. We’re excited for our hardworking big kid, who gets to embark on a new journey in the fall as she begins college. Fellow parents, you know all the feels I’m feeling. I’m sure you’re feeling them to—or you will be soon if your kids are a bit younger than mine.
But all the feelings have had me thinking about what I’d love, not only her, but all graduates to know. So with that in mind, here are a few things I want to encourage students to focus on as they prepare for the next season.
Focus on your character
Our current cultural moment places a huge amount of emphasis on skills and influence (whether legitimate or manufactured). Your education and future careers will inevitably draw you in this direction as well. But the Bible places one thing as more important than anything: our character.
When we look at the characteristics of a church leader or overseer (1 Timothy 3), only one—the ability to teach—is a skill. The rest is all focused on character. And this reality applies to all of us, no matter our gifts, gender, or calling. Who we are is more important than what we do. So when you find yourself in moments of discomfort, sit in those. God will use them to grow and shape you. To make you more resilient, honest, kind, and compassionate. When you are celebrated for your accomplishments, accept praise with humility, not thinking of yourself more highly than you ought.
Make it your aim to be a person of character. Because people like that are a gift to this world.
Find deep, meaningful community
Next, remember that we become like those we surround ourselves with. This is why Proverbs 13:20 and 1 Corinthians 15:33, for example, remind us of the importance of the company we keep. So, graduate, make it your aim to find deep and meaningful community with Christians of good character. (But don’t neglect relationships with non-Christians either.) Find friends and trusted advisors who can encourage you in following Jesus, help you carry your burdens, and whose burdens you can help shoulder. This matters more than you may realize now, but you’ll be grateful for in the years to come.
Commit to following Jesus
As a final encouragement, commit to following Jesus, no matter what. One of the ways you can underestimate the difficulty of following Christ as you take your first steps into independent life is to let circumstances draw you away from Jesus. Most often, it will be your circumstances (and sometimes our relationships) that encourage complacency and disengagement. To not read your Bible or skip prayer altogether. To avoid talking about Jesus with anyone and disengage with Christian community.
But, if Jesus is truly the Son of God, if he is the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29), who died, was buried, and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), then we need to follow him. So, make prayer and reading the Bible part of your daily rhythms. Stay invested in community with faithful Christians. Remember who God says you are—a beloved child, an heir to a promise, a person made in his image, with a calling to represent him in the world, and a responsibility to this world. Invite others to experience the goodness of the gospel. Follow Jesus, come hell or high water. He is who you need—and we all need—more than anything.
Photo by Charles DeLoye on Unsplash
