Four hundred sixty students graduated from Union University May 3 during spring commencement services of the 200th graduating class on the university’s Great Lawn. Among them was Ryan Wagy of Lee’s Summit who earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration-Marketing.

Attorney Mark Lanier, founder of the Lanier Law Firm in Houston, Texas, delivered the commencement address, encouraging graduates to build their lives with intentionality, using the tools God has given them to construct lives of purpose and meaning.

“You don’t want to build your house on career success,” Lanier said. “You don’t want to build it on material wealth. You don’t want to build it on cultural values.

“Build it on the solid rock that is Jesus,” he continued. “Those are lasting values. That’s kingdom success, and that is active stewardship.”

Lanier told graduates they have a divine calling with their name on it, and they should seek God’s power as they pursue that call.

“Years from now, your memory of this ceremony will fade,” he said. “The echo of my words will die a lot quicker than that. But what will always remain is what you’ve built with your life, as long as you’re here. And you can build with wood, hay and stubble, or you can build in priceless, eternal ways.”

Located in Jackson, Tenn., Union University is a liberal arts-based university affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention. Founded in 1823, Union is the oldest institution relating to the Southern Baptist Convention.