By Nestor D. Bunda, DTh, BCC
Global Servant, International Ministries

Delivered during the Baccalaureate Service of CPU on July 23, 2022, 10:00 AM at the Rose Memorial Auditorium and with Scripture Text found in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15.

Rev. Dr. Nestor D. Bunda, Global Servant of the International Ministries, delivered the Baccalaureate Message.

Good morning everyone. Good morning sisters and brothers in Christ.

In spite of the declaration of war of Covid against humanity around the world, I am very grateful for this privilege to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to you on the occasion of celebrating and honoring you, the CPU graduating class of 2022. Congratulations graduates!

Thank you CPU baccalaureate committee for inviting me. Thank you my alma mater, Central Philippine University through President Ted Robles for the welcoming spirit.

My friends, the Word of God today is brought to you by St. Paul, which is his message to the Corinthian church two thousand years ago.

An important message of God to the Corinthians thru St. Paul is about giving and receiving. St. Paul asserts, that whatever you give has a corresponding just reward. He encourages the Christians at Corinth to give their best so they can receive the best reward as well. He motivates the church at Corinth to give the best of who they are. He encourages them to give the best they have.

St. Paul encourages them nga ihatag ang pinakamanami nila nga kabuhi kag ang pinakanami nga ara sa ila.

Let us meditate on the spirit of giving and receiving according to St. Paul. Let us pray: Gracious and loving God, may your Holy Spirit be with us as we discern your Word today. May your spirit of wisdom and common sense be with us as we ponder upon your Word on giving and receiving. Amen!

The title of our Baccalaureate sermon, “Give your Best” (Ihatag ang imo pinakamanami) is based on the gentle counsel of St. Paul on giving and receiving.

Let us find out how we can learn from St. Paul on giving the best we can. For you to find out how to give the best you have, I would like you to answer a question. Please keep your answer to yourself and see if it has a similarity to the answer of St. Paul.

What options have you when you give? St. Paul has two clear answers to that question. First, you can give reluctantly, and second, you can give wholeheartedly.

You have the option to give reluctantly. Ang paghatag bala nga may pang-alag-ag; inang daw nagapaganot antes maghatag; ukon daw pasapayan lang nga paghatag. Or, you can give wholeheartedly. Ang bug-os bala nga paghatag; hatag nga wala gid hawid-hawid kag wala gid kondisyon; bug-os gid nga tagipusoon ang paghatag.

According to St. Paul, you can give wholeheartedly, reluctantly, or even give just because you are forced to do so. However, God does not like a reluctant giver. Wala gid nanamian ang Dios kon pasapayan lang ang imo paghatag.

What happens when you give reluctantly? When you give halfheartedly, meaning not 100 percent, you will also receive less than 100 percent. St. Paul said, “when you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly.” Kon tunga lang man nga tubig ang imo ginbutang sa baso, ti tunga lang man sa baso ang pwede mo mainom.

Or, you can give with complete sincerity. You give because you decided in your heart to give the best you have.

When you give wholeheartedly, God will be happy and will bless you more.

Kon ginpuno mo imo baso sang tubig, isa gid ka baso ang imo tubig nga mainom.

When you give fully, you will abound in every work you do.

God, the supplier of everything will increase your blessings. When you give your best, God will enrich you so that you become even more generous.

Buot silingon, kon ginapuno mo pirmi ang imo baso sang tubig, maga-alalawas ang tubig mo, gani mas nga naga generous ka; naga alwan ka pa gid; nagamahinatagon ka pa gid.

When you do the best you can do, you are also serving others well. In other words, your service is not only to respond to the needs of others but most importantly, your service to others is also an overflowing expression of thanksgiving to God for all the blessings you received.

You sincerely serve not for personal self-interest but you serve because you are grateful to God. You serve because you are thankful to God for what he has done to your life. Therefore, it is joyful to give fully.

How about you? What do you prefer? Do you want to give reluctantly or wholeheartedly? Let’s find out your answers through these questions:

Are you satisfied with half-cooked rice (hilaw nga kan-on, ok man sa inyo)? It’s good, your answer is “No.” Otherwise, you will have a stomach problem if you eat half-cooked rice.

Do you like to live in a house with unfinished roofing? Gusto mo man mag estar sa balay nga wala matapos ang bubong? It’s good, your answer is “No.” Otherwise, you will get sick sleeping without protection.

Is it alright to be a student but not able to graduate? Maayo bala na nga nag-eskwela ka pero wala ka graduate? It’s good, your answer is “No.” Otherwise, you just spend money and great efforts but end up with nothing.

Would you like me to leave without finishing my baccalaureate sermon? Gusto nyo mahalin ko di subong? It’s good, your answer is “No,” because I usually preach for three hours.

Some said I am not handsome. Is that true? It’s good, your answer is “No.” Otherwise, you are fooling me and my angel will be angry at you.

Your answers to my questions only show that you do not like a half-baked life; you do not want a mediocre life (Indi kamo luyag sang maluya ukon gatinamad nga kabuhi; indi kamo luyag sang kabuhi nga daw wala energy); and, you do not want a casual life (pasapayan lang nga kabuhi).

Here are some more questions:

Do you want your parents to be proud of you? Because your answer is “Yes,” then do the best you can!

Do you like a higher salary? Because your answer is “Yes,” then do the best you can!

Do you want a successful life? Because your answer is “Yes,” then do the best you can!

Do you want to be happy in life? Because your answer is “Yes,” then do the best you can!

Life is good and beautiful when you do the best you can.

If you are working on something, do the best you can and finish it with quality. Jesus once said if you want to build a house, be sure to do your best to complete the construction of your house. Otherwise, those who see your unfinished house will ridicule you. People will insult you because you began to build your house but you were not able to finish it (Luke 14:28-30).

What happens when you give your best? When you do the best you can and intentionally do what is good, a lot of issues can be resolved. (Kon maayo ginahimo ninyo, kag hungod gid sa buot nga ginahimo nyo ang maayo, abaw, damo gid ang problema nga masolbar.)

If you are part of a road construction group, for example, wala gid sang lubak-lubak nga karsada, because you give the best you can. Kag kon may makita ka da nga lubak-lubak gina kay-o mo dayon.

Kon kamo bahin sang housing project group, and you do the best you can, magatahom pa gid ang aton kabalayan.

Kon kamo bahin sang teaching force, damo gid ang maga-alam because you give the best you can.

Kon kamo bahin sang health care force, damo gid magaayo sa ila balatian, because you do the best you can.

My next questions for you are these: How would you know you are doing the best you can? How would you know you are giving the best of who you are and you give the best of what you can do?

You will know that you are doing your best if you do good things when no one is watching you. Buot silingon nga imo gid na ya maayo nga kabubut-on nga naghatag ka sang pinakanami mo gid bisan wala ya sang nagabantay sa imo. Because you are giving your best even if no one is watching, katahom gid na ya sang resulta sang imo ginahimo.

Buot silingon, wala ka ya ga pang into sang iban, you are not fooling others; buot silingon honest ka gid ya kag may integrity kay kon ano ang maayo mo nga ginahimo sa public ginahimo mo man sa imo private life, even if no one is watching you.

To all of you graduates, you will be there in our chaotic but beautiful world; in our churches; and, in our communities. You are Centralians. In the world, you will demonstrate what you have embraced as Exemplary Christian Education for Life (EXCEL).

As Centralians and Christians, you are encouraged by the Word of God through St. Paul to give the best of who you are. You are expected to give the best of what you have.

When you give the best you can give, our world, your world, and your personal world will become more beautiful and meaningful!

This is my challenge to you all:

Identify one value nga ara na sa imo. Inang ginapakamahal mo gid bala, for example, the value of honesty (pagkatampad); the value of kindness (pagkamaloloy-on); the value of generosity (pagkaalwan); the value of caring (pagkamapinalanggaon).

Identify your value. If you identify honesty as your great value, then try hard to do the best you can, to be honest, every day, every hour, every minute, and every second of your life. If you identify kindness as your value, try to do the best you can to be kind every day. If you value generosity, do the best you can to be generous every day. If you choose to be caring, try very hard to be caring every day.

Always choose to give your best. Choose to give wholeheartedly and it can change your life for the better. Choose to give, out of the abundance of your heart. It will make you more generous and kind.

Give your best, and God will do the rest. God will bless you more than you ever wished for. Amen!