From the desk of Kent Travis, Humanities Chair, on the eve of Graduation (May 16th, 2015):

In Mark 12 Jesus is in the midst of a conversation with various Pharisees and Sadducees, when a scribe approaches and overhears the discussion. He thinks to himself, “This Jesus person answers well. I think I’ll ask him a question.”

Teacher, 28 “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.

33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Good evening, colleagues, parents, guests, alumni, students, graduates–you know, everyone here… Greetings.

I have been given the great privilege of addressing you all tonight on this momentous occasion. For this I am most grateful.

Seniors, this is your night. You are why we’ve all gathered, so you are my primary audience and I’ll be primarily speaking to you.

You’ve recently been asked to answer the question, “What does it mean to be human?”

I find this a fitting question to contemplate at the end of your senior year. As several of you pointed out in your essays, this is a tricky question. It is interesting that almost none of you mentioned the elements that find their way into the scientific definition of “human,” probably because you know that a human being is much more than a member of homo sapiens, “a species to which modern man belongs; a bipedal primate having language and ability to make and use complex tools.” You all knew I was looking for something other than this—you were looking for something other than this, for while this definition gives us the raw data about human creatures, we all know that to be human is much more than swaggering around on two legs, talking trash and using power tools.

No. As Hope Cooper explains in her essay, the question of what it means to be human is complex because it “attempts to answer the purpose of the existence of humans at the same time as answering” the result of being a human.

So we all know that to be human goes way beyond our flesh and bones, beyond our head, shoulders, knees and toes. So what does it mean to be human?

Jace Kueckle says that “to be human means you are alive for a purpose and your life means something to the world.” Grace Falken seconds this idea when she explains that having an “understanding of a greater purpose and a desire for a better future” is “uniquely human.” Mariah Rogers and Katelyn Stiles both might describe this “purpose” as the need to advance. Perhaps this purpose is, as Ari Assad explains, that human beings have been instilled with a sense of duty; maybe our purpose is to fulfill this duty.

So when we think of this question, many of us land on ideas of purpose, advancement, duty.

The Apostle Peter says we are “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:3-11). We are not God, but as near to being like him as any creature on this planet. For as you know, we were created in his image, male and female (Genesis 1:26-28). But what’s “image of God” mean, exactly? To put it very simply, it means that we are made in God’s image physically, creatively, and ethically. We can’t stop being human by virtue of the fact that we were created human. But, I do think we can say that we become more wholly human as we become more physically, creatively, and ethically as God made us to be.

PHYSICALLY

First, when I say created in God’s image physically, I don’t mean that our bodies are like his. God is a spirit and has no body as we do, so this must mean something else. To be exact, to be created in the image of God means we were made to “reflect God’s glory physically” (Leithart, The Promise of His Appearing, p. 26). We rule this earth as God’s viceroy, God’s ambassador (as Ebuka Uzoma puts it). We are to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill and subdue the earth. This is a calling, a mandate, and intimately connected with being created “man,” male and female… with being created human.

But we know how the creation story goes; we know about the fall of mankind. And we know the consequences. Now, this ruling, this reflecting God’s glory physically, is a labor, a struggle, and it comes with great trial and suffering. The suffering is so great in this world that it can be overwhelming, as we have experienced this semester. Many people would go so far as to echo C-3PO and proclaim, “We seem to be made to suffer. It’s our lot in life.”

But some of you say otherwise. You’re not going along with old Goldenrod. He’s a droid; what does he know about being human? No. It is true that we suffer in this world as we seek to reflect God’s glory physically in how we rule it. But it isn’t suffering that makes us human. As Samantha Anderson explains, it’s our “reactions and responses to the tribulations” in this life that speak to the nature and depth of our humanity. Her brother, Jake, agrees: humans rise above “suffering and [show] that there is more to humanity than suffering.” Indeed, our suffering and struggle can be overcome and we can improve, we can advance.

So it seems that many of you are right in line with the Bible’s account and explanation of the physical nature and responsibility of being made in God’s image when you say that to be human is to advance, to live with a purpose and a duty.

CREATIVELY

Second, we are created in God’s image in our creativity. Unlike all the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, and the fish of the sea, we can create with our thoughts, words, and actions. Of course other creatures have thoughts of some kind, they have audible communication of some kind, and they most certainly take action; yet, nearly all their thought, speech, and action is limited to instinctual existence and survival, and perhaps minor problem solving at best. Danielle Adams summarizes this well: “No other form of life known to the world today has evolved, like man, through progress and invention, as the rest of creation ‘thinks’ on a solely survival-based agenda and lives accordingly; only mankind has the ability to form original thought and, therefore, create accordingly.”

So in a manner similar to God, we human beings can form solutions to problems, new inventions to make life easier, new worlds to entertain ourselves and help us understand our own world–all in our minds. And this is not to mention what we can do with our words and our actions as we bring our solutions, inventions, and worlds into reality.

One of the greatest things we create as creatures made in the image of God is relationships. Through relationships, all that we are and all that we are meant to be grows and flourishes. In and through relationship with God and each other, we become more complete, more whole, more… human, as God intended us to be. Vocabulary wizard and all-around good guy, Michael Chen, illuminates this idea when he claims that what really makes us truly unique and makes human beings “kosmokrators [that is, the lords of this world] is that human beings are capable of creating relationships and connections which also allow us to grow and expand our horizons, to thrive and accomplish many things, and to be closer to our species in order to be successful.” As creative beings, we have the ability to grow as individuals, and, as Dylan Campbell notes, the “ability to grow with individuals” (emphasis added).

Yes, part of being created with this creative capacity ourselves is that we think and speak and act creatively into this world, but we also think and speak and act creatively into each other’s lives. A very core part of our being human is that we “share experiences with each other” (Alyse Whitcomb) and all of you know this is true from the many experiences you’ve had together this year. When we share experiences, when we grow with individuals, we ourselves inevitably grow as well. In and through our interactions with each other, we have the possibility of being re-created into better versions of ourselves… again, as some of you know from this year.

ETHICALLY

So we are created in God’s image physically and we are created in God’s image creatively. Thirdly, being human means being made in God’s image in an ethical sense. Indeed, we have a sense of justice built into us. We are able to determine what is right and what is wrong, not only by virtue of what works or what allows for survival, but by virtue of the fact that we somehow think and know that there is such a thing as “rightness” and “wrongness.”

“Ah,” you say. “But this isn’t the whole story, Mr. Travis. We’re fallen. Cracked. Skewed. Broken. To err is human.”

Indeed, but even this statement proves my point, in at least two ways. “To err is human.” I said “err” as if it rhymes with “burr,” and that surely grates on some of your nerves. Some of you might even be thinking about pulling out your phone to double check the pronunciation. (Ok. That may just be me.) More likely, many of you are probably thinking, “He mispronounced that word. He’s WRONG.” And there it is: the sense of rightness and wrongness, even over simple things like word pronunciations.

We are made in God’s image and we do have some sense of right and wrong, some sense of justice built into us. But, because we’re fallen, because we err, this sense of justice is also skewed. Thankfully, we have a guideline for right and wrong in God’s word, and this can steer us when our thoughts, words, and actions harm us and our fellow humans instead of creating health and harmony. Our creator God shows us mercy and forgiveness through Christ, the truest, most whole, most fully realized human to ever be. In him we see the gospel, which Tim Keller summarizes magnificently: “We are far more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

So now, forgiven people of God, those who know God and are known by him, in Christ can get back up, can reach beyond the fallen state of their humanity to something more complete, robust, full. Several of you graduates touched upon this aspect of what it means to be human in your essays. At the same time, you seem to also intuit the fact that we are made in God’s image physically and creatively. We’ll start with Chase McDermott. He explains that “humans fail constantly, but they learn from these mistakes and use them to better themselves and others, and to create wonderful things.” He continues, “Everyone is going to fail, probably every single day, but in order to grow from these failures [he or she] must first accept them, and then think about what he or she can do to either fix the situation, or learn from it and do better next time. History has shown that failure is inevitable, but this world would not be where it is today without men and women accepting these failures and learning from them.”

Haleigh Smith says, “Being human is learning one’s weaknesses and learning to cope. To be human is to struggle, but to also overcome obstacles after learning from them.”

And Gage Upshaw says, “the essential [thing about] us, as humans, is the fact that we fail, recover, and learn, and give or receive forgiveness and grace in those failings.”

Yes, we do make mistakes. We do fail. We do sin. But, as human beings created in the image of God ethically, we happen to be “the only creature[s] on earth that possess the ability to choose if [our] emotions of sorrow… happiness… anger… will impact [our]actions or behavior” (Hailey Leach). The same can be said about our failures; we are not bound by them. We are not bound by instinct or uncontrollable reactions to stimuli… even if these stimuli are our emotions.

What Now?

So what do we do with all this? Here I am, talking about being human at a graduation speech… to a bunch of humans. (“I think we got this down, Mr. Travis. Thanks for playing.”) So we’re human in that we’re made physically, creatively, and ethically in the image of God. What now? How shall we then live?

As you go from here, I want you to think about how you’ve lived while at Brook Hill. Have you been less or more than what you think God would have you be as a human being? How will you be tonight? Tomorrow? In five years from now? It’s true you can’t be any more or less human than you already are, especially if all we mean when we say “human” is an upright-strutting, speech-wielding, tool-slinger. You can’t really stop being a member of homo sapiens. At the same time, you can’t stop bearing the image of God.

But here’s the thing. You can tell lies with your humanity. You can be a lying image of God, one that doesn’t reflect him physically by ruling yourself and your space in this earth well; you can be a lying image of God, one that doesn’t reflect him creatively, thinking, speaking, and acting to solve problems and improve the society of mankind; you can be a lying image of God, one that doesn’t reflect him ethically, one that doesn’t care for justice, for right or wrong, for health and well-being. You can sit back and just let “life happen.” You can coast. So, no, you can’t become less human, but you can become a liar.

Or, you can continue to learn to tell the truth with how you live. You can become more complete, more whole, more true in your humanity. You can be intentional in physically mirroring God with your thoughts, words, and deeds, as you rule yourself well and whatever is placed under your leadership, as you create, as you make evaluations.

How do we do that? It sounds so hard. But it’s not. What we need to do to be more complete, more fully human is really pretty simple. It’s what Jesus said in the Mark passage I started with. We are to love God with all our being–heart, soul, mind, and strength–and love our neighbors as ourselves. All the law and prophets hang on this. This loving God and loving neighbor is, perhaps, the sum total of what it means to be human, for all of our mirroring God comes back to these two things.

This isn’t hard to understand, is it? It isn’t like rocket surgery or brain science, as I said in chapel a few weeks ago. But doing it? Well, that’s another matter, as we can all attest.

But for our health, for the health of our world, we must embrace our humanity and take on this charge to love God and neighbors. Failing to do so will leave us hollow and less than what we can and ought to be.

To love God is to obey him. When we fail to obey God, we fail to love him (1 John 5:2-3). And we become less than we are meant to be.

When we are selfish, when we fail to love our neighbor as we love ourselves… we fail to love God at the same time, and we become less than we are meant to be… and so does our neighbor.

Many of you already know this; I’ve probably not said anything that you haven’t heard or thought before.

For instance, Grant Jones says to be human is to follow Jesus. He’s right. If you want to fully realize your humanity, follow the man who did. Love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength, as he did. Love your neighbor as yourself, as he did.

Lindsay Wheeler says that when we put our “own selfish desires above our friends and family”–indeed, above our fellow humans–“[we] risk living a life filled with solitude and unhappiness.”

Claire Dixon says that “in order to live a full and happy life… we must learn to love one another.”

Janet Nwachukwu even says, “for us to achieve the fullest of all ‘humanity’ we have to serve.” To be a more complete, whole-souled human, we have got to get past ourselves and see the souls around us. And serve them. And love them.

FINAL CHARGE

This is a high calling, this being human. I exhort you to embrace it. Struggle to always be aware of your humanity, to be aware of who and what God made you to be. As Louis Luo remarked, “we should fight for what we believe and stand for it.” Settle for nothing less.

It takes work. But we’re not alone. We weren’t meant to be. Find people who will work with you at this. Find community, but the right community, for it is in the community of like-minded souls–people living with intention–where you will flourish, where you will create, where you will come to stand more and more true to who you are meant to be as a human being. To riff on something Avery Langemeier said, people in such a community seek to make each other the finest version of themselves. Find this sort of community and contribute to it, become more wholly human in it.

Class of 2015, will you please stand. Look at the faces of these teachers here on the stage. Look around at the faces of your fellow students, seniors and underclassmen alike. Look at the faces of your parents. This is your community. It has been among these people and in this place that you have grown, that you have become a finer version of yourself. It has been among these people and in this place that you have become more fully whole, more fully human as God made you to be.

Seniors, please turn and face your parents.

Parents. Here they are. Your sons and daughters, young men and women. All of you and all of these teachers and faculty members behind me have labored for this day and this moment. They are another step closer to being fully ready to go and live fully human and whole lives. We can all say amen to that.

Seniors, if you will, face each other. Speak the Guard Charge to one another.

Now, if you will, face me. One last time, here me, I beg:

Live pure. Speak true. Right wrong. Serve others. Follow the king.

Now, go into this world… human, made in God’s image… and may your life tell the truth.