Graduation Season and the Admonition to Persevere

PETER W. TEAGUE

There are moments in life when the passing of time feels especially sacred.

One of those moments came recently when I had the profound privilege of handing my granddaughter her college diploma. She graduated from Lancaster Bible College, the very institution where I served as president for twenty-one years.

As she crossed the platform and I placed the diploma into her hands, my heart was filled with gratitude, reflection, and hope for the future.

Commencement season has a way of stirring such emotions. Across the country, graduates listen to speeches urging them to persevere, to work hard, and to “never give up.” These themes are timeless because life itself will inevitably bring disappointment, setbacks, and seasons when dreams appear shattered. Yet history reminds us that some of the greatest contributions to humanity were born not out of ease, but out of adversity.

One such example is the remarkable life of Alexander Cruden.

Cruden lived in the eighteenth century and is remembered for producing Cruden’s Concordance, one of the most significant Bible reference works ever compiled. For generations, pastors, teachers, students, and ordinary believers have relied on his concordance to study the Scriptures more deeply. Even in our digital age, his work remains legendary for its painstaking detail and usefulness.

What many people do not know, however, is that Cruden’s life was marked by deep personal disappointment. He endured emotional struggles that left him heartbroken and disillusioned. The dreams he once held for marriage and personal happiness did not unfold as he had hoped. He was confined more than once because of his mental health issue. It would have been understandable for him to retreat into bitterness or despair.

Instead, Cruden redirected his pain toward purposeful labor. He immersed himself in the study of God’s Word and devoted years of disciplined effort to compiling the concordance that would eventually bear his name. The work required extraordinary persistence, concentration, and patience. Long before computers or searchable databases existed, every reference had to be identified and organized by hand. It was a monumental task that few would have had the endurance to complete.

Yet Cruden persevered, and the result became a gift to countless generations.

His story illustrates an important truth: disappointment does not have to define the remainder of our lives. Sometimes the very setbacks we would never choose become the soil from which our most meaningful contributions grow. Broken dreams can, through perseverance and faith, be transformed into enduring purpose.

That is why Commencement messages resonate so deeply each spring. Graduates stand on the threshold of possibility, full of anticipation for what lies ahead. But no diploma can exempt a. person from hardship. Careers may not unfold according to plan. Relationships may disappoint. Doors may close unexpectedly. The temptation to quit will come to every life.

What matters most is not whether difficulties arise, but how we respond when they do.

As I watched my granddaughter, beaming with joy, diploma in hand, I found myself reflecting not only on academic achievement, but on the kind of character that sustains a person over a lifetime. Education is valuable, but persistence is indispensable. Knowledge may open doors, but perseverance keeps us moving forward when those doors do not open as quickly as we hoped.

The scene was especially meaningful because it represented the intersection of generations. Years ago, I stood at the same institution helping guide its mission and vision. Now, many years later, I stood there again, not as a president conferring degrees upon graduates, but as a grandfather placing a diploma into the hands of someone I love dearly. It was a reminder that life moves swiftly, and that the investments we make today often bear fruit long after we can foresee it.

Perhaps that is another lesson we can learn from Alexander Cruden. He likely never imagined the enduring influence his work would have centuries later. He simply chose faithfulness in the midst of disappointment. He continued when quitting would have been easier. He labored diligently when life had not turned out according to his expectations.

And because he persevered, the world was enriched.

Graduates today need more than lofty dreams; they need resilient hearts. They need the determination to continue when circumstances become difficult. They need the wisdom to understand that failure is not final and disappointment is not destiny. Some of life’s greatest achievements are born in seasons when we are tempted to surrender.

Commencement ceremonies celebrate accomplishment, but they also quietly remind us that education is only the beginning. The real test comes afterward, in the ordinary days of work, responsibility, setbacks, and perseverance.

As another class of graduates steps into the future, may they remember that persistence often produces the greatest legacy. And may all of us, regardless of age or stage in life, continue pressing forward faithfully, trusting that even our disappointments may one day become part of a much larger purpose.

Peter Teague Ed.D, President Emeritus at Lancaster Bible College, serves as an IACE Board Member.