By Kelly Akins
This morning, we gather to worship together and to honor our graduates. At Wilshire, we have some longstanding traditions, and one of those is that our Youth Choir sings Allen Pote’s setting of Psalm 139. This song teaches us that God knew us before we were made, knows us from birth to death, and that we cannot ever flee from God’s presence. God is always with us and walks before us.
Wilshire, when these graduates were dedicated as babies, you promised to love them, teach them and to pray for and take care of them. You have done your job, and you have done it well. We have given them wings, and now it is time for them to fly from this nest called Wilshire. Remember, graduates: you will always have a home here. We pray you will let God lead you in your life everlasting. We love you, and we are proud of your accomplishments.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus commands us to love one another. How can we love one another as God loves us? When we are kind to one another, share with one another, listen to one another, take care of one another and pray for one another, we are showing God’s love to the world. We are teaching our preschoolers to do this. Sometimes, it’s not easy to love one another. I’m reminded of a time when my son, Brian, and his friend Jackson were in Kindergarten Sunday School with LeAnn Hampton as their teacher. Jackson and Brian were either the best of friends or the worst of enemies! There was an altercation between the two of them one Sunday, and LeAnn went up to them to discuss the situation. Jackson immediately said, “Don’t be talking about that love stuff.” How often do we not want to hear about that love stuff? When does that happen for you?
As a noun, love is an intense feeling of deep affection. When love is a verb, it requires action on our part. Jesus showed us how to love others because he put action to his words. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to love some people? Then there are those people who are really difficult to love. You know the ones I’m talking about, the people who aren’t like us or are prickly and hard to relate to. Graduates, there are going to be all kinds of people you will meet in life, and they won’t all be very lovable. Jesus commands us to love EVERY BODY as he loved us. He was drawn to the lowly, the meek, the downtrodden, the unlovable, the brokenhearted and the misfits. May we all be more like Jesus in our love.