Heaven’s Graduation

Nestled between the towering Maracas Mountains in Trinidad lies my alma mater. As a member of the university’s board of trustees, I was invited to participate in its ninety-first graduation exercises. The board planned for the exercises to be held in new facilities built on the site of a previous auditorium that was destroyed by fire. Many doubted the new building would be completed in time.

But the university president insisted that with God, all things are possible. With prayer, perseverance, and the power of God, the building was in a state of readiness for the graduation exercises. As I witnessed and participated in the grandeur of the graduation activities, I was overcome with ecstasy.

I heard stories of how graduates had endured hardships and demonstrated great faith in order to achieve their goals. I witnessed the adulation of spectators as they celebrated with the graduating class, involving such family combinations as father and daughter, aunt and niece, brothers, and a family of four that included the father and mother. Reflecting on the seemingly impossible task of completing the auditorium and on the trials and hardships experienced by some graduates, I am reminded of heaven.

The workmen worked tirelessly to complete the building, and the decorators created an incredible ambiance that reminded me that God is preparing for us a magnificent home in heaven which “eye hath not seen” (1 Corinthians 2:9, KJV).

I am further reminded that the redeemed, like the class of 2018, will have endured great tribulations, but by God’s grace and mercy, they will have made it to the finish line. What a grand and glorious graduation that will be when the graduating class of Earth stands before the King of kings and Lord of lords to receive, not a diploma that will fade away, but a crown of glory that will last forever.

They will not wear the corruptible graduation regalia of Earth but the robe of Christ’s righteousness. Among this class will be family members, friends, loved ones, and the redeemed of all the ages who have fought the good fight and kept the faith. What a day that will be when the trials of Earth will end, and we will hear the strains of the Song of Moses and the Lamb. I can’t wait for that grand graduation day! How about you?

Gerene I. Joseph