Pressing Toward the Goal — Graduation at Eastern Christian School

On Wednesday, June 18, Eastern Christian School celebrated the commencement ceremony for the Class of 2014.

Matthew Van Eck, a member of the graduating class, provided a picture for the cover of the commencement program (pictured here). Inside the program, he described the reason for this drawing:

“‘Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 3:13-14).

When I thought of ‘straining toward what is ahead’ or ‘pressing on toward the goal,’ hiking immediately come into my mind. While hiking up a mountain, you strain toward the goal of reaching the top and seeing the breathtaking views. The journey may be challenging, and problems are bound to arise, but in the end the ‘prize’ is always worth the struggle.

As seen in the illustration, we as graduates have reached the peak of high school, and are now looking into the future, reflecting on our goals and plans for college and careers, and always seeking ‘to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.’ Thank you to all our parents for being with us this far on our journey!”

Congratulations to you Matthew and to the 2014 graduating class of Eastern Christian School!