You're a

graduate. Congratulations!

You have

accomplished much.

You have

finished well.

You have

reached a truly significant moment in your life.

You're

beginning a new chapter.

You're

entering a new world.

As you

enter this new chapter, this new world, ask yourself the

important question:

How will

you judge yourself?

How will

others judge you?

A song

written by Mark Harris, Don Koch and Stephanie Lewis and

arranged by Dennis Allen might help you tremendously

right now. It's entitled "The Measure of a

Man." "Man", of course, is

"humankind," male or female.

The song

lays out the various standards and measures that people

use to judge and rate themselves and others. It reveals

the falsehood that we're only worth what we own or how we

look. Sure, it's okay to want to be your best on the

outside, but the TRUTH is that God looks at what is on

the inside of a person. And that is the real

"measure of a man," the real "measure of a

graduate."

With a

wonderfully engaging contemporary tune and beat the words

of this song say it all:

The

Measure of a Man

1. This

world can alalyze and size you up and throw you on the

scales.

They can

I.Q. you and run you through their rigorous details.

They can

do their best to rate you and they'll place you on their

charts

And then

back it up with scientific smarts.

But

there's more to what you're worth than what their human

eyes can see.

(Chorus:)

Oh I say the measure of a man is not how tall you stand,

how

wealthy or intelligent you are.

`Cause I

found out the measure of a man -

God

knows and understands for He looks inside to the bottom

of your heart, and what's in the heart defines the

measure of a man.

2. Well

you can doubt your worth and search for who you are and

where you stand.

But God

made you in His image when He formed you in His hands.

And He

looks at you with mercy and He sees you through His love.

You're

His child and that will always be enough.

For

there's more to what you're worth than you could ever

comprehend.

3. You

can spend your life pursuing physical perfection.

There is

so much more, more than ever meets the eye.

For God

looks through the surface

And He

defines your worth by what is on the inside.

[Kollmeyer

is senior pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on

Ga. Highway 314 in Fayetteville.] ^�����

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