Graduation and the Gospel

Read: Psalm 27:4; Luke 24:44-49 “And now, I would like to present the class of 2026!” Kendis squinted to see her sister, Derica, in the crowd of high school graduates donned in robes of black and maroon. She stood next to her mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and grandma, all of whom were cheering and clapping and stomping in response to her sister’s graduation. At dinner, Derica talked excitedly about all the things she was looking forward to. “I can’t wait to find a church and other students at college who also love Jesus. We could start a Bible study. We could learn and grow together!” Grandma put her hand over her heart and squeezed Derica’s shoulder, brushing her coily hair to the side. “Does that mean you’re going to move on from the things you learned at church here?” Kendis asked. Her family looked at her, trying to determine what she meant. “Well,” Kendis went on, “we’ve learned about the gospel—how Jesus died for our sins, rose from the dead, and promises to be with us forever.” “And how the Holy Spirit lives in us,” Derica added. “But people always say there’s so much to learn about God and you can never understand it all. I guess I just meant you’ll be done learning about Jesus and His life and move onto other things…like the Old Testament.” At Kendis’s comment, both Derica and Grandma laughed. “Well, it’s true!” said Kendis. “There’s so much of the Bible left to read!” “Yes, yes, Kendis,” Grandma said. “But the whole Bible is about Jesus. It’s one story of how God always loves His people, even when we mess up, and how He fulfills His promise of a Savior. The whole Bible tells the story of the gospel, the good news that Jesus came to save us.” “I always thought of the Old and New Testaments as two separate things,” Kendis said thoughtfully. “Think about it this way,” Derica said. “I took math and English classes in high school, and I’ll still keep taking them in college. But they’ll be more advanced, building on what I already know. I want my faith to be like that. I still need to learn about Jesus because without Him, nothing else matters. Everything else I hope to learn simply points to Him.” Kendis grinned. “I guess you’ll never graduate from the gospel!” –Zoe Sherman How about you? Have you ever thought about how much there is to learn about God and the Bible? Does that overwhelm you—or make you excited? You can learn new things about God and experience His presence every single day of your life, and you’ll still never know everything. Isn’t that amazing? But no matter what you learn or how old you get, never forget how much Jesus loves you. Today's Key Verse: Just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith. Colossians 2:6-7 (CSB) Today's Key Thought: You never graduate from the gospel