You are only given a small window of time to leave your legacy behind. For the next several years, the world is going to tell you “you’re too young, you don’t know anything yet, sit down before you break something, and here, just let me do it…” Eventually, the time will come when the world will tell you “you’re too old, you don’t know anything anymore, sit down before you break yourself, and here, just let me do it…” In between is a small window of time in which you will be looked at to solve all the world’s problems.
No pressure.
Actually, I mean that: There should be no pressure. You’re not required to solve the world’s problems. You might think you are. Others might say you are. You might even want to be the one to do it, but it’s not your job. The Lord has solved the world’s problems. Now it’s up to the world to take advantage of His solution.
And yet, there are still things you can do. You will have a small window of time in which to make a difference. Don’t waste it.
In making a difference, don’t be afraid to buck trends. Break the wheel, do the “unconventional” thing. Every old generation is full of people who are scared of and who disrespect the next generation; no one likes being pushed aside or replaced, but that’s the cycle of life. Just keep plugging away and wait for your time to come, and when it does, don’t waste it by making all the same mistakes the previous generation made.
My generation is dishonest, petty, greedy, and indecent…and so was the one before mine, and the one before that, too. Some generations are better at hiding their sins than others, but all of them have the same problem. You can’t solve that problem (sin is solved by Jesus), but you can be different. You can be a generation of leaders who, unlike in the past, are honest, sacrificial, decent, and kind. You can take the Golden Rule and apply it to everyone you meet. What a change of pace that would be!
No matter what, know that the Lord is over you and His Word can guide you. My generation oversaw the sharpest decline in “religious affiliation” in recorded history. You can be different. You can buck the trend. You can turn to God. If you do, just think of the good you can do and the legacy you can leave behind.
God bless our graduates. We love you,
~ Matthew