Graduations represent not only the achievement of a goal, but the beginning of the next adventure. I've heard some Jewish universities hand their graduates their diploma with this charge, "Go make disciples." You have been given this gift of learning and are now encouraged to pass that on to others.
Discipleship is a way of replicating your skills which can influence and bless your community. At it’s ideal, discipleship is about holistically and transparently bringing someone alongside to become like you, not just what you do but who you are. As a young adult, you are still in the season of learning and becoming. You can begin a life – a lifestyle - of not only being a disciple, but now having one as well. For the rest of us, it’s never too late to start.
The decisions you make will mold who you will become, choose intentionally. Choose wisely. How will you be known? Will your identity be in your chosen career? In the case of an engineer, will you become a great engineer? Excellence is to be desired in any profession. Or what about a great Christian engineer? I’m not even sure what that means. My challenge is that you would strive to be defined as a faithful Christian - who diligently serves his community as an engineer.
As you call disciples to be like you – in the faith and also in your career - do you instill in them something more than just a skill? Are you willing to live a life to be emulated and not just pass on information?
Keep learning. Set your target. You will refine it over the years. But be intentional about the direction you choose and the investments of time and talent you make, not just in what you do but also in who you are. You will look behind you someday and those following will reflect what you have become.
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12
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