Six Charges For My Graduating Senior (Rusty Collins)

1. Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

To trust in the Lord with all of your heart is to be undeniably sold out to God through His Son King Jesus. It is to be unapologetically committed, without reserve, to the Lord in the salvation of your soul and the direction of your life. To be sold out is to be confident in His leading, careless in your loving, secure in your yielding, and sure in His salvation.

2. Lean not on your own understanding.

To trust in the Lord with all of your heart is to have a healthy distrust of your self. It is to submit your limited and finite understanding to the infinite wisdom of almighty God. Worship in the words “ I don’t know” and plea for God give you understanding. Hear the words of Jeremiah the prophet as he proclaimed in verse 23 of the 10th chapter; “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.”

3. In all your ways acknowledge Him.

In all your ways submit to the Lordship of Christ. In everything you do, whether you eat or drink, you do it all for his glory and by his grace. You have no ownership in your life. You have been bought with a price. You are not your own. You must have no will of your own, only a single pure desire to put Christ on display by abiding in His will. (Believers Bible Commentary pg 798)

4. Do not be wise in your own eyes.

Satan’s self-righteousness banished him from the eternal pleasures of His maker. He believed he was wise in his own eyes. He tried to elevate himself above God. God will destroy the proud. Just as Satan was banished from God’s presence for his pride, so shall you be banished in your self-righteousness from your eternal joy; namely Jesus. It is hateful to God and to Christ to walk in self-righteousness. In doing so you call the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit a liar. Humble yourself before the Lord and He will exalt you. Ask for wisdom and He will give it freely. Heed the warning from Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

5. Fear the Lord.

“The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him and burns up His adversaries all around. His lightening light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His righteousness and all peoples see His glory!” (Psalm 99: 1-6) Be in awe of His power. Be enthralled by His majestic beauty. Live knowing He can kill your body. Die believing He can destroy your soul! Do this that you may live. He is God and there is no other; He is the Lord and there is none like Him!

6. Depart from evil.

Departing from evil is committing treason against your will and aligning yourself with the omnipotent God. It is setting a course to confront the evil tidings of your heart and to prevail in the command; “ Be holy, for I Am Holy.” (Lev 11:44) The world is evil. Therefore to depart from evil is to detach yourself from the world; which is a holy convocation. R.C. Sproul said in his book The Holiness of God, “ We are to be purified daily in our pursuit of holiness.” Your life will be marked by what you pursue. If you pursue the world, it will be marked with worldliness. If you pursue Christ, it will be marked by holiness.

There is a promise neatly tucked in these charges. If you do these things God promises to direct your path, or literally “make your way smooth and strait.” This does not mean that trouble will not seem to triumph at times in your life. What it means is that no matter what, “All things will work together for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)