Ouachita Stories

More family members gather on this campus today than on any other day of the year – and it's not hard to understand why.

Somewhere in those seats is a parent who quietly rearranged the family budget to make this moment possible. A mother who answered the phone or responded to a text at 11 o’clock at night and never once made you feel like it was too late. A father who has mentioned your name and bragged about what’s next for you to just about every coworker.

Somewhere in those seats is a grandmother who has prayed for you more faithfully than you will ever fully know.  And a grandfather who, whatever it took to get here, was never going to miss this. And for some of you, there’s an important person missing – someone who wanted to be here and couldn’t. They are not forgotten today.

These chairs are also filled with teachers and mentors and friends who have loved you and poured their lives into yours. All of that love was lived out in their support of and belief in you.

It reflects love in one of its purest and most beautiful forms. I was reminded of this kind of love that holds us together about three weeks ago when I got a small but vivid glimpse of it in a conversation with my wife.

Lisa was in Michigan with our daughter, her husband and their two young boys. I was here. Late one night, I sent her a text with these words: “It’s been a long day for you, but I’m thinking this is a top 10 day in our lives when you think about what really matters.”

She responded with simple words: “One of the best parts of life, truly.”

It wasn’t necessarily an easy day. Here’s what it looked like for her. It began at 12:30 am with a knock on the door and a whisper: “The baby is coming. We’re going to the hospital.”

About an hour later, our four-year-old grandson woke up, calling for his mom. And the rest of the night was a patchwork of fitful sleep on a twin mattress with a restless grandson. About 6:30 am, a very active two-year-old woke up ready to rumble.

Lisa cared for our grandsons; bundled them up for a trip to the hospital to meet their new baby sister; brought the boys home, fed them, bathed them and attempted the near-impossible: getting two very little children to sleep at the same time, all before she collapsed.

It was exhausting. It was chaotic. And it was glorious.

A couple of days later, I held our new granddaughter, while her two brothers bounced around beside me. Without question, it was one of the top 10 moments in our 42 years of marriage.

Lisa says it this way: “When you become a parent, you discover a fierce love. When you become a grandparent, you discover a fierce joy.”

Fierce. That’s the word.

Your parents and grandparents know exactly what I mean. Graduates, the family members who surround you have been fiercely loving you for as long as you have been breathing. Others have joined them along the way. We are all here to celebrate and honor you.

But I want to point you to something even greater than the human love that surrounds you on this happy day.

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, said this: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” (Matt 7:11)

Jesus looked at the most powerful force in the human experience, the sacrificial love of family, and says that’s merely the baseline.

A parent’s love is real and beautiful, but it is limited. It is bound by time, distance and human weakness. But the love of your Heavenly Father is perfect, timeless and limitless. It’s a love of an entirely different magnitude, eternal and sovereign.

His love makes even the fiercest human love look like a candle flickering next to the sun. That realization changes everything about how you can commence from this campus.

As you graduate, I want to offer you three observations anchored in this verse that you can take with you. 

First, you can walk with the Father, not in fear of the unknown.

You are leaving Ouachita, a place of certainty for you, to a future – even with all your planning – that will be marked by a level of uncertainty: a new job or school, new community, new church and new friends. This can, understandably, create fear.

But the words of Jesus remind us that you do not live in an indifferent universe governed by chance. Your Heavenly Father knows your name, your needs and your future.

The God who led you here, goes with you there. You aren’t stumbling to an unknown future; you’re walking with a Father who knows you and the path you’re going to take.

Second, ask boldly, and ask often.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t say God gives us everything we ask for. Or gives gifts to those who deserve them or who never doubt or have everything figured out.

Jesus says, God gives good gifts to those who ask him.

One of the great dangers of graduation is the temptation toward self-sufficiency. You now have more knowledge, credentials and momentum. These are good gifts, but don’t let them crowd out your dependence on God.

Whatever the circumstance, pray like you need Him, because you do. Bring Him your career decisions and your relationships and your fears and your dreams.

He is not annoyed by your asking. He is your Father, and He delights in your coming to Him. Ask boldly and ask often.

Third, trust his gifts even when it surprises you.

The verse doesn’t say God gives us everything we ask for. Jesus says God gives good gifts.

Parents here know the difference. There were things you wanted as a child that your parents wisely withheld. And there were gifts they gave you that you didn’t understand until years later.

Your Father in Heaven is the same, only wiser still. The God who loves you more than your parents ever could is still giving.

In the years ahead, some prayers will feel unanswered. Some doors will close. Some plans will unravel. When that happens, come back to this promise: Our Father in Heaven is still giving. His gifts are still good. And His timing is still perfect. Trust him, even when it surprises you.

Graduates, you have worked hard to get to this moment. The family and friends who surround you have loved you fiercely. All your labor and their love are worth celebrating today.

But as you turn and walk out of here into the rest of your lives, carry this with you: You are also loved by a Heavenly Father whose devotion makes even the best human day look like a faint echo of eternity.

Believe the words of Jesus – “how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” He is good. His gifts are good. And He is for you.

So, ask Him for help in all things. Then trust Him in all of your days. Congratulations, Class of 2026!

 

By Dr. Ben Sells, Ouachita president

 

 

 

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