 Chairperson, principal, director, Mrs. Lauren, faculty and staff, friends and family, and most of all, the graduating students of 2022. Ladies and gentlemen, first of all I want to place on record my thanks, my gratitude to the authorities of Tetzel College for inviting me and giving me this very rare privilege. And I consider it not just a rare privilege but a high honor to be the commencement speaker this afternoon. I also want to congratulate all of you graduating students for not only getting into Tetzel College, which I know is not a mean feat, but getting out of it, graduating out of Tetzel College. You will soon be alumni of perhaps the most prestigious college in Naglund today. So congratulations to you. Did it ever occur to you why this event is called the commencement exercises or the commencement ceremony? Because in one sense today marks the end and the termination of your undergraduate studies. It is an end. But if you look up the dictionary, commencement means the beginning of something. So why is it called commencement ceremony? Well it is called commencement ceremony because today marks the day when you will begin your life as graduates. But not just as graduates, but today will mark the day when you will walk from youth to responsible adulthood. Some of you will go on to study further and go for higher education. Some of you will get into professional work. Some of you will start your own businesses. Some of you will get into government employment. Maybe some of you are even planning to get married immediately to the sweetheart that you met here in Tetzel College. And you can't wait for graduation to be over. But whatever it is, you will be walking into a new life. And that is why it is the commencement ceremony. And as I thought about what I could share with you on a day like this, a verse came to me. A very obscure verse in the Bible. And by the way, you have invited a preacher to be your commencement speaker. So you will have to bear with me because all I have to say is usually based on the scriptures. But a very obscure verse tucked away in the Bible. Almost a passing verse, a throwaway line came to me. And that verse is Acts chapter 13 verse 36. And it simply says this, and David served the purpose of God in his own generation. And David served the purpose of God in his own generation. And I believe that this little verse about King David, that great hero of the Bible, has a lot to teach us as human beings. But more importantly, for people like you who are graduating today. And I just want to share very briefly three things. Number one, it says, David served. David was one of the greatest heroes of the Bible. He was perhaps the greatest king of Israel. He was a warrior. He was a champion. It could have said, and David reigned. It could have said, and David ruled. It could have said, and David conquered. It could even have said, David pursued, or David fulfilled. But this verse says none of this. Instead it says, David served. David served. And this lesson is important for us. We are striving for excellence. But for the Christian, it is excellence. It includes, and it is most importantly, excellence in service. The idea of service is one of the greatest legacies that Christianity has given to the world. In fact, to this day, in almost all countries of the world, the word minister is used for high officials and politicians who have authority, political authority over us. But do you know what the word minister means, literally? It comes from the Latin root, which literally means servant. So prime minister means prime servant. Chief minister means chief servant. And to this day, the highest bureaucratic officials all over the world, including a nation like India, who are the highest of officers. Well, they are, as you would know, the Indian people in the Indian administrative service, people in the Indian police service, people in the Indian foreign service or the other allied services in Nagaland, NCS, service again, Nagaland police service. Government officials are called, remember, government servants. And this is something that we really need to remind ourselves of today. And for those of us older folks who are here, I know we are not that old, I would want to remind you again that our life must be a life of service. And those of you who are younger, I want to inject this into you today, very briefly. That you will find meaning in life. You will find fullness in life when you give yourself to service. Jesus himself said, I did not come into this world to be served, but to serve. And he also said, you try to gain your life, try to keep your life and you will lose it. But lose your life in service and you will, David served. Secondly, it says, David served the purpose of, David, by the way, was not a religious worker. He was not a priest who did religious work. He was not even a prophet who spoke the word of God and taught the word of God. But it still says that he served the purpose of God. As a king, he served the purpose of God. As a soldier, he served the purpose of God. As a poet and a musician, he served the purpose of God. As a judge, he served the purpose of God. As a shepherd, he served the purpose of God. gone. And if there's something that we need to capture in Nagaland, in our society today, it is this idea of calling. Most of us, we have the idea that those people who are called to serve God are only those who are full-time pastors or people like me who are in quote full-time Christian ministry. And so people in the so-called secular spheres, they are not seen and they do not see themselves as being called to serve God. And for a very long time Christianity indeed thought itself to be like that. And what happened? It went into the dark, the so-called dark ages. But when the reformation happened, and this is historically true, when the reformation happened, the reformers, they came out and they said, everyone, everywhere in everything is called by God and commissioned by God to go out into the world and serve the purpose of God, to whatever station of life he or she is called. And so people started going out into the world and they said, I will be the best businessman to the glory of God. I will be the best administrator to the glory of God. I will be the best farmer to the glory of God. That is God's calling upon my life. And so when people started going out of the religious spheres and the churches into the real world, changes started happening in the real world. And that is how the modern world came about and was produced. I want to appeal to you, whatever you are called to. Some of you may be called to be dress designers. Some of you, like our valedictorian, she may be called to the business world. I don't know. Some of you may be called to politics. Some of you may be called to be farmers. Some of you carpenters. Whatever it is, consider it your call, God's call upon you, your life, and serve the purpose of God in that particular calling. And third and finally, this verse says, David served the purpose of God in his own generation. Now you might ask, well, of course he served God and the purpose of God in his generation. How could he have served any other generation? But the truth is, many of us, many of us either live in the past or live only for the future. We live only in the glories and the victories of our forefathers when our forebears, how great and wonderful they were, or we wallow in their blunders and their errors and we complain about what our forefathers did or did not do. But the fact of the matter is they are not going to come back. And our forefathers and forebears, they served or failed to serve the purpose of God in their own generation. At the same time, there are many of us who are worried about our children or our grandchildren or our own futures and we are anxious and paralyzed by the future. Well, our children, our grandchildren, they will fail or they may succeed in serving the purpose of God in their own generation. What about you? What about me? Will you serve the purpose of God in your generation? Life is short and the span of a generation is even shorter. Make sure that one, you give your life to service, serve. Number two, make sure that you are not just serving yourself or your people or your tribe or your family. Make sure that you are serving the purpose of God. Whether it is sacred, fear or secular sphere, all life is sacred. Serve the purpose of God. And finally, serve the purpose of God in your own generation. May God bless you and may God bless that soul college. Thank you.