Sometimes, as Christians we get stuck in this mindset- The mindset that we need to obey what God's Word tells us so to the world we appear to be followers of Christ. This, my friends and fellow classmates, is the wrong reason. In the past few years I've found myself slowly falling into this same category. I obeyed because I wanted my teachers, mentors, pastors, friends and peers all to view me as a good Christian. I rarely ever considered why I needed to obey past the superficial aspect of merely carrying the Christian title. When we get to heaven, God isn't going to ask our 10^th grade English teacher if she thought we were saved or not. He will look directly at our hearts and although it may seem terrifying, he will look at the motives of our "Christian" actions as well. Next year, most of us are not going to be surrounded by people sharing our same values and beliefs. There no longer will be anyone we need to try and convince that we are godly men and women. It's just you and God now. This is when all we've learned here at Seattle Christian needs to become real. It needs to become our own. Next year, instead of trying to build us up, some of our professors will make it their mission to undermine everything we've been taught about the Christian faith. They will be rooting for us to fail. Not academically but spiritually. It's so easy to get stuck in a routine of obedience when we are surrounded by fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, but what happens when we're popped out of this mold? Will we keep our shape or slowly conform to our new environment? Obedience needs to come out of our love for Christ. Its motivation should not reside in appearance alone. If this is why you follow His Word, I'll tell you right now, next year you will fail spiritually. However, if you take the time to make Him your best friend, your stronghold, your guide, then your relationship will become so much more real, and obeying Him will overflow from your desire to please Him. As we embark on this new and exciting adventure, I challenge you, Class of 2009, to make God your own and remember why we are called to obedience: as a sign of our love for our Savior, Jesus Christ

My daughter  wrote this speech to read to her graduating class of 2009.