THIS WEEK MANY YOUNG PEOPLE throughout our area moved their tassels and grabbed a diploma and said “goodbye” to the past and “hello” to the future. For some this week marked the culmination of years of education and possibly a deep desire to never have to open another text book or attend another boring lecture. Yet, for others, it marks the beginning of a new and exciting learning adventure. For some, the diploma signifies the end to a formal education and for others it is the passport for future discoveries.
As I look back on my high school graduation MANY years ago I think I feel somewhere in the middle of the two groups listed above. I was really thrilled to be finished with high school, and I was truly looking forward to a “new way” of doing school. I wasn’t 100% sure where my educational journey was going to take me (maybe a Recreational Education degree with an emphasis in Developmental Ed., maybe underwater basket-weaving). Early on, my journey was all over the map, but I was learning, and it was fun. I may not have had a good plan, but I knew I wasn’t through with learning.
I believe the Apostle Paul had this ongoing education process in mind when he encourage young Timothy to, “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:14-17)
The challenge is a good one for all of us, no matter how long ago we received the diploma and turned the tassel. Learning is a life-long process, dare I say an eternal process, so let’s keep learning.