I gave this commencement address to the Independent Learning Academy’s graduating class of 2022.

I want to begin by reminding you of what you’ve done to get here today.

• 2,340 days of school.
• Roughly 14,000 hours of instructional time.
• 700 hours of homework.

That is a lot of sacrifice, a lot hard work, and a lot of tears. School isn’t easy. Learning, when done right, takes work. So allow me to say to you: well done. We are here to honor you and acknowledge the work that got you here.

Moms, dads, family, and friends, let’s again applaud our graduates.

But Why?

Those days, hours, and hard work – that is the what of these last nine years, but now is an excellent time to introduce you to another, and even more important, question: why? What is the point for all this hard work in your past and all the hard work coming in the next four years?

There are a lot of bad answers to that question – “I have no idea why I go to school!” or  “I am forced to go to school.” However, there is one answer that I think worthwhile. “I go to school because I want to live ‘the good life.’”

Now, I think that is a good answer, but I don’t think everyone means the same thing when they say, “The good life,” do they? Some may think, “playing video games 15 hours a day” or “becoming a famous singer or influencer or actor or athlete” or “making loads of sweet cash.” There are a lot of ideas of what “the good life” looks like.

So, what is the good life?

What is “The Good Life?”

I don’t think answering this question is only matter of personal preference that depends on someone’s interests or dreams. Instead, I think the good life is something that can be enjoyed or missed out on no matter what your interests are.

Let me show you by asking you four questions.

1) Would “the Good Life” be good or bad?

This one is easy because it’s literally in the phrase, “the good life.” So, the good life will be filled with good things like truth, happiness, peace, love, contentment, and beauty and not filled with bad things like lies, misery, anxiety, dissatisfaction, or ugliness. The good life will be good, not bad. Fair?

2) Would “the Good Life” be permanently good or sometimes good?

I think all of us would agree that it is much better to have permanent good life and not an occasionally good life. Whenever we have something truly good – truth, peace, happiness – we want it permanently. We don’t want to rent goodness. We want to own it. The best version of the good life doesn’t have an expiration date.

3) Would “the Good Life” be unlimited in goodness or limited in goodness?

Should the good life be like a box of donuts or the whole donut shop? Should it be like a bottle of water or a mountain stream? Obviously, the best kind of good life would never run out of goodness. After you’ve eaten all the goodness you can, there is still a feast of goodness left to enjoy. The best kind of good life would never be emptied or dried out or finished off.

4) Would “the Good Life” be good that’s inside you or outside you?

Is it better for the good life to come from inside of you or outside? Should it be based on what’s happening around you or what’s inside of you?

This one takes a second, but becomes clear with examples. Should the good life only be experienced when your circumstances are good – when you’re body is healthy, your bank account is full, your circumstances are enjoyable? Now, although you should all hope for good circumstances, you shouldn’t depend on them for the good life, because your circumstances won’t always be good. Life will be brutal to you at times. You or your loved ones will become serious sick. You won’t always enjoy a lot of money in the bank. Sometimes you or people you love get fired, sick, hurt, betrayed, or worse. If your idea of the good life depends on good circumstances, you aren’t signing up for a good life, but a terrible one.

However, if you’ve gotten the good life on the inside, then no matter how bad things get around you, you’ll be ok. If your soul is fat and happy then even if your body isn’t, you’ll still enjoy the good life. If you heart is enjoying peace, then even when your circumstances are pure chaos and disorder, you won’t be crushed. If you have goodness inside of you, then no matter the badness outside of you, you’ll still be able to carry on with true joy. The good life isn’t found in luckily having happy circumstances, but having a healthy soul.

So, the truly good life, if we’re all on the same page, is good, permanent, unlimited, and is located inside of us instead of our circumstances.

Kicking the Tires

Soon, you will get your license and eventually get a car. When you get a car, you and your parents will want to make sure the car is a good one, yea? You’ll check the car facts to see if the car has been in accidents, you’ll take it to the mechanic to have it looked over, or you’ll kick the tires because apparently that’s a thing you’re supposed to do.

So, if we take time to make sure a big purchase like a car is quality, shouldn’t we also take a moment to make sure the good life we’re pursuing is good? After all, your life a bit more important than your first car? So, let’s look at three of the most popular versions of the good life and “kick the tires” by seeing if they hold up according to our idea of what the good life must be like.

“The Good Life is Getting Into a Good College.”

College is so emphasized today it is easy to think, once I get into the college of my dreams, I’ll have arrived. Everything will be downhill from there!

College is a great thing and, if it makes sense for you, I recommend it. However, even if you get into the college of your dreams, it won’t give you permanent joy. In fact, the Mayo clinic says 44% of college students show signs of depression and suicide is the second leading cause of death amongst college students. Even more, college isn’t unlimited; it’s only four years. Though college is a gift with lots of goodness, it falls short of securing you the good life.

“The Good Life is Making a Lot of Money.”

I had a brave student once say in a class discussion, “I know everyone says, Money doesn’t buy happiness,’ but if I had a billion dollars, I think I’d be fairly happy.”

One scientific, peer-reviewed journal, after studying the emotional well-being of thousands of people from low and high incomes, concluded: “Beyond household income of $75,000 a year, money does nothing for happiness, enjoyment, sadness or stress.”[1] Having money in the bank does not guarantee happiness in your heart. More money may buy you more toys, but it doesn’t get you more joy. In reality, chasing money makes life miserable because you’ll never feel you have enough. One billionaire was asked almost a century ago, “You’re the richest man in the world, how much money is enough?” He replied, “Just a little bit more.” Chasing money for happiness is like drinking salt water to quench your thirst. The more you drink, the thirstier you become.

“The Good Life is Having a Good Career.”

We think, “Once I get my “dream job,” then I will be satisfied.

There is nothing wrong with a good career. It is a really good thing. It just does not guarantee the good life. Careers are not permanent or unlimited. If your whole life is poured into your career, what happens to you happiness if you get demoted, laid off, or fired? Or what will happen to your joy when you retire? What about when you come to finally face death? I have never seen or heard of anyone on their death bed say, “If only I spent more time in the office.”  Good careers are good, but they are incredibly temporary, limited, and ever changing; they’re good to have in life, but they’re not the good life!

There are more janky versions of the good life out there and interrogate them like we did with these three today. But, at this point, here is what I would like to recommend to you: don’t buy these. Choose today to get rid of versions of the good life that are not permanent, unlimited, and planted inside of you. If you’ve already bought into them, grab your receipt and return them. They’re over-hyped and don’t deliver what they promise.

The Actual Good Life

So, what is the actual good life? The one that is permanent, unlimited, and planted inside of us? It is the life that comes from knowing, loving, and adoring God through Jesus Christ.

Now, I am a Bible teacher, theology professor, and pastor, so that answer probably doesn’t surprise you. However, don’t dismiss the idea just yet. Why is this the good life?

It’s Logical

If God has made everything, doesn’t that mean that He’s better than everything he’s made? When God made the world he said, “It is good.” But the goodness of his creation is limited, he is unlimited. God’s creation is always changing, but He is unchanging; permanently perfect in every way. God’s creation can only be enjoyed when it’s around you, but the life God offers in Jesus comes is something He works out inside of you – forgives of your sins, a new heart, a resurrected soul! The gospel of Jesus brings you into friendship with the God who is permanent and unlimited in His goodness and promises you new life not in your circumstances, but your heart! We don’t even have to crack open a Bible to understand, if God exists, then the best kind of life is to look over creation to the one who created it all!

It’s Biblical

The message of the Bible is this: true joy comes only from God.

Consider King David was a man who had it all. He was praised as a manly man; the guy who started his career killing Goliath with a slingshot when he was a Jr. Higher. He was a famous poet and musician writing over 73 of the psalms in the Bible. He was a powerful and successful man, known as the godliest and most faithful king Israel ever had. You think that this guy had it all! But what was the one thing he really sought after? The one thing he asked for?

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. Psalm 27:4

Or consider Paul. On multiple occasions Paul was beaten and imprisoned for preaching Jesus. One such time, he wrote a letter to the Philippian church while in chains. At this moment, by earthly standards, Paul had every reason to be miserable: he unjustly lost his freedom, lost his possessions, lost his comfort, and was expecting to soon lose his life. But what do we read from him? “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). Or, from the same prison, he wrote these commands to the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Phil 4:4). At this moment, he wasn’t enjoying college, his career got him imprisoned, and he had no money. But do you know what he did have? A permanent, unlimited joy in his heart that came from knowing Jesus Christ. They could take Paul’s earthly life, but they couldn’t touch his good life.

Consider Matthew Henry. When Matthew Henry was returning home from teaching at church, some men jumped him and robbed him. Henry reflected on his experience and wrote this in his journal: “I have great reason to thank God, that having traveled so much, yet I was never robbed before now.”[2] At a time where we’d expect to hear complaints, curses, and misery, Matthew Henry’s soul was brought to a place of genuine thankfulness and worship! The robbers could take his money, but they couldn’t steal his good life!

It’s Real

It’s not just a thing you only read in the Bible or history books. The joy of knowing God through Jesus is something you can actually witness in the lives of genuine Christians around you. For me, I think of my grandpa. My grandfather was born into a family where alcoholism and anger were in abundance. Jesus found him in college and saved him. From there, he broke the chain of alcoholism and anger and followed Jesus into a life that was characterized by self-control, love, and joy. A few years ago, grandpa’s heart steadily began to die inside him. He went to the hospital and I watched his once muscled, strong, vibrant body waste away. Over about two months, his conditioned worsened, his pain increased, and his days left were obviously few. Eventually they moved him back into his home so he could die in peace.

My brother and I were at his home along with a few longtime friends from church. He was sleeping but all of a sudden we heard him try to speak. I looked over at him and his eyes were wide open, his frail arms were weakly moving in front of him, and his faint voice was whispering something. We drew closer and realized: he was singing Amazing Grace. Not only that, but his arms were moving like an old choir director. He wasn’t just singing, he was wanting to lead us in song.

So, for the next twenty minutes or so, on his deathbed, with weakened voice and body and failing heart, my grandpa led us all in songs of worship to King Jesus. In my grandpa’s greatest time of pain and weakness and frailty, he proved to me that there was no one as comforting, powerful, and strong as Jesus Christ. He proved to me that the good life, the one that’s permanent, unlimited, and given within, can only be found in knowing Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior, and Friend.

Will your college diploma cause you to sing your way into death? Will your bank accounts be of any comfort for you there? Will your career prepare you for that day? I want you to hear me clearly today, graduates. I challenge you to find anything or anyone else who can give you that kind of love, peace, and joy on your deathbed. In this world, there is no one and no thing that offers a better life than Jesus Christ.

Jesus said it clearly: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). At the end of the day, every version of the good life the world offers you – the money, the colleges, the pleasures, and the fame – will only kill you, steal from you, and destroy you. But, the good life offered to you by the crucified and risen Savior will fill your heart all the way home.

Don’t Settle For Less

Many people think becoming a Christian means you settle for less – less fun, less luxury, less joy. However, the reality is this: Christ has come so we stop settling for less. In calling you to himself, Jesus, the Living God, says trade your sometimes good for always good, your temporary for permanent, your limited trinkets for unlimited treasure. Stop chasing after creation and turn back to the Creator. Stop settling for less and in Jesus find the good life that’s better than you could ever imagine.

Graduates, you’ve worked hard to get to this day and you’ll work all the harder to get to high school graduation and even harder for every chapter after that. Don’t waste all your hard work to obtain cheap, counterfeit, and worthless versions of “the good life.” In all you do from here forward – in your schooling, your working, in all your life – work for the genuinely good life that is permanent, unlimited, and planted within you by the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

Don’t work for the good life of the world, but the good life that can only be found in the One who made the world. That is a life worth living. That is the good life.

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[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/jobs/12search.html

[2] Taken from Matthew Henry: His Life & Influence by Allan Harman