Ed Note: The following is an excerpt of a speech given by a young believer at a public high school graduation ceremony this last May.
I want to tell you about a Friend of mine whose life and success are told out time [and] again in the successful lives of others. My Friend was born and raised in a small rural town much like the one we have grown up in. Because His father was only a poor carpenter, my Friend spent most of His life helping with the family business rather than going to school.
At age thirty, He left home to follow a higher call. He went into ministry and made it His business to see to the physical and spiritual welfare of others.
His orations stirred His countrymen and alienated those in power. After three years of service, caring for the sick and dying, government authorities arrested Him for blasphemy. He was brought before the highest court of the land, though He was the most innocent Man that ever walked this earth. Jesus Christ was convicted and sentenced to death on a cross. He died alone—rejected by the very people He had served and cared so passionately for.
Many might say His life ended in failure. He did great things for His people while He was alive, but what was it all for? If He had lived longer, He may have had a very successful life, but His life seemed just wasted in the end. He died—end of story.
But that’s not the end of the story. Three days after His death, God raised Jesus Christ from the dead—the stamp of His approval that what Christ did here on earth and, more importantly, on the cross was indeed successful.
And it is through Christ’s death on the cross that we can be successful in our lives down here. By knowing Him as your personal Lord and Saviour—claiming His success as your own—you can trust in Him to guide your pathway through life. As His child, He only wants the best for you. And though you may not become the CEO of a multimillion dollar company, you will have the assurance that at the end of your life, you will hear those words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
A. Lunden