Last night was an evening of joy as 21 students from our church’s Christian school, Grace Christian Academy, graduated from senior high school—among them a set of twins (photo 1). Valedictorian Hanna Sweetman and salutatorian Meghan VanDalen gave meaningful thanksgiving-laced addresses, after which I gave a commencement address on “Who are you going to be?” rather than the typical “What are you going to do?” question, pointing them to the necessity of being born again and running the race set before them, looking to Jesus as the author and finisher of faith who can enable them to serve Him as prophets who confess His name, as priests who intercede for others and live sacrificially and thankfully, and as kings who fight against sin and Satan and will reign with Christ forever. Afterwards, the seniors watched an enjoyable 30-minute video of themselves, and then we all walked to a downtown park where we had space and opportunity to congratulate them, and take photographs (photo 2) and pray individually with them and their families (photo 3). Pray that these graduates—and thousands more—will be bright lights for Christ in this desperately needy, confused, and sinful world.
