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A graduation letter

A Christian Science perspective: On using our gifts to bless others and the world.

  • By Debra Corry Brandt

Dear Graduate,

“Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared” (Exodus 23:20). Those are the words of promise that the Bible says were spoken by God when He gave the Ten Commandments and other laws to Moses. Whether you are going to college, looking for a job, entering the military, or are on a different path, it is reassuring to know that God’s goodness lovingly awaits you and is tenderly guiding you there.

Perhaps the bigger journey in life is finding out who we already are, what we already have, and discovering how to use our gifts to bless others and the world. “Man is God’s reflection, needing no cultivation, but ever beautiful and complete.” These words on page 527 of the Bible companion, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” were written by the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy. Whatever direction your path takes, nothing can change the fact that you are divinely equipped to do good, because the reality is that you’re a child of God. Knowledge of this prepares you for whatever may come along.

The history of man’s growth Godward is an overall theme of the Bible told through the lives of shepherds, farmers, fishermen, prophets, kings, and many others. Rather than being defined by their careers, though, we know them because of the spiritual qualities they possessed. Your journey, like many of theirs, will include many opportunities for spiritual growth, including a deeper understanding of God and what it means to be made in His image and likeness (see Genesis 1:26, 27). You can experience ever-unfolding insight into and trust in your inseparable relationship to God. And you can find creative ways to express the unique qualities of Soul, another name for God, that are yours – qualities that will give you courage, such as grace, strength, joy, and love. Putting them to use will guide, govern, and enhance whatever you do. Mrs. Eddy also states, “God expresses in man the infinite idea forever developing itself, broadening and rising higher and higher from a boundless basis” (Science and Health, p. 258). Your journey, then, is the revealing of limitless divine good in your experience, no matter what your career.

The competitive world of “bigger, better, faster” can be demanding and disappointing. Very few people win an Oscar or a World Series ring, or become chief executive officer of a Fortune 500 company. But wherever your path leads, contentment and success are natural when you decide to make spiritual growth your focus.

Dear graduate, I leave you with the words from a devout follower of Christ Jesus: “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (III John 1:2).

With love and joy,
Debi

A version of this article ran in the June 9 issue of The Foxboro Reporter.

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About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

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