I. Friday on the Internet I saw a pop up advertisement aimed at "Graduates" it showed a congratulations card, like you might get at Hallmark. On the cover it showed a Graduate getting their diploma, and the caption read: "Here you are Graduate, the card with cash!".
What graduate wouldn’t want to open a gift card with bundles of cash in it to send them off into the world? I remember the joy of childhood opening a birthday card from Grandma that only had $1 in it. And now graduating, maybe that $1 has some zero’s behind it. Then you look at the rest of the advertisement "The New Bank of America Visa Gift Card"...
No doubt the advertisement was aimed at getting graduates to make a decision; or parents to make the decision to give their child a "Visa Gift card". No doubt it is the new and improved, better than ever Visa Gift Card. But let me be clear in that decision making process, "Visa" is not cash, nor is it the same as cash, but it will later cost you cash.
As we come to a time of year when people are graduating High School and Colleges, we know this is a historic event in the lives of these young people. It is not something that is a "right" but is the result of personal achievement and accomplishment. When my cousin "Kevin", and really I often call Kevin my older brother because he lived with my family for several years; shared a room with me and my younger brother Daryl, and when he graduated in the mid 70’s on his wall read "Today is the first day of the rest of your life". Probably an overused cliché, but may in fact be the truth about defining the moment of graduation; or any significant moment in our life like a graduation. It is perhaps an historic day which for many marks the culmination of the first eighteen years of your life, and basically is to tell the everyone "Hey world, their ready" (Graduates you are ready), but the question may very well be, is the world ready for the Graduates?
In the moment of graduation and going out to some semblance of life on your own, you will begin making decisions that will change and form the rest of your life.
II. The prophet Joel (3:14) called it a "valley of decisions". "Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." That is where I think we often find ourselves. Especially right now, in this moment, graduating Senior’s find themselves in the "valley of decisions". Graduating and stepping into the world. And the decisions that they will make, and that we make do and will shape the rest of our life. Decisions to go to college; decisions not to. Decisions about jobs; decisions about finances; dates; marriages; children. Decisions about relations, YES even about our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, these are all found in the "valley of decisions" and what you decide will affect who and what you become.
Sometimes, when you are graduating you feel kind-a-like "Superman", and we approach the world with a "Superman Theology". We approach the "Valley of Decisions" like we are the graduates; we have accomplished something; we have arrived. And you have, and we congratulate you on this, but we cannot send you, or ourselves out into the world thinking that this is all there is. We cannot send you out into the world with the "Super Graduate - Superman Theology!"
You know about "Superman".
1. In the (1) "introduction of the animated New Adventures of Superman, the Filmation cartoon running on CBS from 1966 to 1969" the opening narration went something like this, while images flashed on the screen:
Narrator: Faster than a speeding bullet!
[A barrel of a revolver pointed toward the camera fires a bullet toward a target, and Superman flies in front of the target, deflecting the bullet off his chest!]
Narrator: More powerful than a locomotive!
[Superman runs alongside a speeding locomotive, then jumps in front of it, leaning forward and stopping it. The wheels of the locomotive screech on the tracks!]
Narrator: Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!
[Superman flies over a skyscraper and leaps over the top of it.
Passer-by-1: Look! Up in the sky!
Passer-by-2, Unseen: It’s a bird!
Policeman: It’s a plane!
Passer-by-3: It’s Superman!
[Passers-by in a city and a policeman comment on what they see up in the sky! In a rare overhead camera shot, Superman is seen in a unique flying stance with his arms down beside his hips as opposed to his usual forward position for his arms. Passerby-3 flexes his eyebrow when announcing "It’s Superman!"]
Singers: It’s Superman, the Man of Steel, Superman!
[Superman is shown stopping 2 missiles!]
Narrator: Superman, rocketed to earth as an infant when the distant planet Krypton exploded, and who disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and freedom with super powers far beyond those of ordinary mortals!
[Kal-El is shown peeping out a front window of a rocket escaping from Krypton which has a red glow just before exploding. A blue-suited Clark Kent is shown, then the top of the Daily Planet building. At the top of the Daily Planet building is a Saturn-like structure, which is apparently the emblem of the Daily Planet newspaper! Superman after changing from Clark Kent then is seen flying out of the Daily Planet toward a meteor, then hits a shower of meteors with his clenched fists!]
Singers: It’s Superman, Super…Super...Superman!
Graduates, your first approach to "Superman Theology" and many of you may have begun to experience this earlier in your teens, is the danger in thinking that because you are now a "graduate" and that you are now an "adult" , that you are invincible: "FASTER THEN A SPEEDING BULLET MORE POWERFUL THEN A LOCOMOTIVE
ABLE TO LEAP TALL BUILDINGS WITH A SINGLE BOUNCE"...
We applaud your accomplishments of anyone graduating; you have set goals; you have worked hard; you have accomplished achievements; overcome obstacles; put up with some teachers, administrators, and probably put up with parents who at times seemed at least to you to carry on their shoulders the "stupidity of the world". And even this you have overcome, BUT you are not superman or woman, and in the world out there you are not invincible. You, and we alike are all sinners. You, and we alike are filled with frailties and shortcomings. You, and we alike, are not super-human, but mortals and their are evils in the world that can consume us and some things can even claim our lives. Yes, you are graduating, but you are not "invincible".
And you will enter into the "Valley of Decisions", and while you may not be invincible, we know who is. God our Father in heaven, and through His Son Jesus Christ! And so I want us to understand that our only hope in "The Valley of Decisions" is to go there and stay there with God. So many times in graduating, we want to run off and experience our freedoms. Run off and take on the world. Run off and stretch our wings; leave the Church behind. Shove God off into a corner, to make super-human decisions on our own. But the best decisions that you make for your future, will be the ones that you make with God. The best decision that you can make in the valley of decision is to make the decision to walk with Christ, no matter what the cost! Remember that the only invincibility comes from Christ, "and you can do all things through Him that strengthens you!"
2. I also want you to know, as you run off into the world like Superman, that even Superman had his weakness: Kryptonite. And as you go off into the world, into the "valley of decisions" you too will face your weaknesses and challenges. Superman knew his weakness, and thereby always tried to avoid it, though "evil" would often thrust itself in his way. Your "valley of decisions" will ne no different. Know your weakness and then seek to avoid them. There are lots of pitfalls in the valley of decisions. "sex, drugs, alcohol, anger, irrational and not thought out decisions" and many more pitfalls lie in wait in the valley of decision. And your specific weaknesses must be identified and avoided. I just said to someone this week "an alcoholic cannot be an occassional drinker at a bar". It just will not work. In other words avoid the meteor like fragments that would just as soon chew you up and spit you out, leaving you weakened on the floor of the valley of decisions.
3. Superman Theology may well leave you thinking that you can draw strength from yourself; from your own powers. But Spiritual power and formation can and will come only from God and through His Son, and through the body of Christ: His Church. And so as you are going off into the world, and going off to college, I encourage you to form and keep a relationship with the Church. Always welcome here at your home Church, but while away form and keep a relationship with the body of Christ that can sustain you in the "valley of decisions".
4. There is a good point I do want to make about Superman Theology. Clark Kent - Kal-El - Superman always stood for what was right, and never for what was wrong. Always make rational decisions for your life that are based upon a relationship with God. It is not rational to be involved in crime. It is not rational to party away your education. It is not rational to make decisions that will lead you to drop out of school; or to cause yourself to be fired; It is not rational to rush into marriage merely for companionship or to simply fulfill sexual desires; Rather decisions made in the valley of decisions are ones that should be made rationally with God at your side, remembering that Superman stood for what is right, and because you are children of God, we too mst represent Him well in the world.
III. (2) A man was once journeying in a far away country and found himself traveling through a forest towards a village. The forest was filled with beautiful oak trees. Several miles away from the village the stranger began to notice that on several trees were painted a bullseye, and dead center of the bullseye was an arrow.
As he traveled closer to the village, he began to notice that on every tree was painted a bullseye, and dead center was an arrow. On some trees, two bulls eyes had been painted and on each an arrow had been shot and hit dead center. The stranger grew excited wanting to meet the fine archer who seemed to never miss his target. Surely this must be the greatest archer in all the world. As he approached the city, every tree was filled with targets and arrows carefully placed by the skilled archers bow, directly on the center mark.
The stranger hurried into the village and began asking, "where is the greatest archer in all the world?" But the people look bewildered. "What do you mean, the greatest archer?" The stranger remarked, "Surely you must know of the greatest archer in all the world. The trees surrounding the village for miles are filled with arrows which were shot from the skilled archers bow. Each target a perfect hit."
"O no," said one of the villagers. "You don’t understand, in this village resides the skilled craftsman who makes the arrows. He makes the finest arrows in all the land." The stranger interrupted, but surely the greatest archer must also live here as well, for I have seen that on every target was a perfect shot."
"No" said one of the villagers. "We have no fine archers, only an exsquisite craftsman who makes so many wonderful arrows, that we just take them out and shoot them. But we don’t want the craftsman to look bad, so wherever they land, we then paint a target around the arrow."
You have been carefully crafted by the most wonderful Craftsman at all. So make decisions that exemplify His workmanship.
(1) -kolfax 1960 , found at www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/memories/show_men.php
(2) Author unknown
