Yes, name is John Rucker. You
may know Jamine or Caleb Rucker. They are my nephews.
I can take no credit…or blame for them. Their father, who was born the year my
high school class graduated, was one of the six children in our family who
walked the 100 yards up from
As a member of the class of
1957 I am not here to talk primarily about the past. I would like to tell you
something about your future!
Wouldn’t that be exciting if I could accurately predict your future! I can,
but with these provisos. We know that there is no guarantee of any future. It
may be God’s plan to end all things, or for any of us individually, our life
could end today. However, with the assumption that there will be a future, I
can tell you with a high degree of accuracy three things that you will
experience during the next 50 years … and each will have some implications for
you.
First, for you the next 50
years will go by with incredible speed,
much faster than you can imagine. All of us that were here 50 years ago will
tell you that is what it was like for us. James the brother of Jesus put it this way: “What is your life, it
is like a vapor that appears for a little while then vanishes.” You may not appreciate that now, but you
will come to realize how quickly your life passes. The implication and lesson from that is that you will need
to seize each opportunity when
it is presented. Don’t wait. Don’t procrastinate. Practice the mantra summed up
in the Latin phrase “Carpe diem”.
Seize the day. You will be glad you did.
The second, accurate
prediction I can make is that you will experience
a fantastic amount of change. Things will change in ways that you can
not always anticipate. There will be obvious physical changes, but also ways of doing things will change. Our
class had no cell phones, no instant messaging, no “My space” or Google. If we
needed to look something up we went into a small white frame barracks building
that sat between here and Harding Hall that was our library. Our chemistry lab
was in the basement of a gymnasium that has been torn down. Our chapel was held
in the auditorium that was the second floor of Harding Hall. If some of us
drove to school, it may have been in Chrysler’s with fins or 98 Oldsmobile’s
that got 10 miles to the gallon, but that was not too bad… gas was 29 cents a
gallon. The implication of the great amount of change that you will experience
is that you need to be prepared for it. You will need to learn to distinguish between changes that are good or
beneficial and those that are bad or harmful. Successfully navigating
the changes will be a major task ahead for you.
The third and final thing I
can tell you about your future is that
some things will NOT change. Our God does not change. Yes, your faith
can and should grow and mature, but God is unchangeable and His will and Word
do not change.
In the sermon delivered to
our class at graduation, Jim Bill Macintyre emphasized four things of
importance for our future. They were, Duty, Service, Hope and Love. It is
these attitudes and ideals that do not change. Regardless of where you go, what
profession or career you have, they will remain constant reference points for
your life. I can not predict how you will express these in your life. Perhaps
you will become a teacher, or minister. Some may become a doctor, dentist or
nurse. Others of you will own your own businesses; become engineers, corporate
executives or investment bankers. Perhaps even a politician! Many of you will
have children and grandchildren and your opportunities for bringing Service,
Hope and Love will play out in very many personal ways. Maybe you will help
build a Christian broadcast station in a foreign land. Perhaps you will serve
on a medical mission ship visiting far away ports. Maybe you will take in a
homeless child. Whatever you do, wherever you go, some things you are learning here at this place will provide an
unchanging foundation for your life. Just like the ship captain or airplane
pilot, you may need the fixed, unchanging
things to provide direction and show you the way when your life goes off
course.
If you do have a future of
fifty or more years, I hope you will come back and share with those students in
a far off time a bit of your life. I predict that you will tell them …
It all went by with
incredible speed – seize the opportunities;
You experience fantastic
changes – some good … some not; so learn to distinguish the difference;
Hold on to the unchanging
principals that this school and institution brings to your life;
The class of 1957 prays for
you a future that includes DUTY, SERVICE, HOPE and LOVE …. and
may God continue to bless you richly!