This month and next, many young graduates will hear their name called. They will walk across the platform, shake hands, receive a diploma, move their tassel to the other side, and begin a whole new chapter in their lives. Perhaps you are a graduate this year, or, almost certainly you know someone who will wear the gown.

Every so often, throughout the journey of our lives, we come face to face with a moment of choice and change. Graduation is one such moment, as are marriage, having a child, losing a loved one, moving into a new town, starting a new job or school, even retiring. At these moments, like a hummingbird hovering in front of a group of flowers poised to choose its target, we can pause ever so briefly to assess our lives and chart a new course.

When was the last time you were confronted with a moment of real choice and change? How did you respond to the calling of your name? When was the last time you heard a word or spoke with a loved one and knew you were called to change?

Now imagine confronting change and choice from a faith perspective. What might that mean? Imagine if every graduate crossing the stage heard God calling his or her name. Imagine it is God calling your name . . .

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I; send me!'
(Isaiah 6:8)

John Bell wrote a lovely, but challenging song called The Summons. I think he wrote for those who are confronted with a moment of change and choice. The melody will grab you right away, but the lyrics will challenge you deep inside.

Will you come and follow me
If I but call your name?
Will you go where you don't know
And never be the same? . . .

Will you risk the hostile stare
Should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer
In you and you in me? . . .

Will you use the faith you've found
To reshape the world around,
Through my sight and touch and sound
In you and you in me?

Don't let the moments of choice and change pass you by. Whether you are a graduate this spring, or changing careers, or perhaps needing to simplify your lifestyle, listen carefully to the whispering summons of change and growth. The Christian journey of faith is all about transformation. On a daily basis, little by little, layer by layer, we strive to surrender portions of our lives to God and to God's ideas for us.

But every so often, we are gifted with a moment of true change, when we know we must choose to either leap forward in faith or retreat into self-consciousness. What's your choice?

Lord, your summons echoes true
When you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
And never be the same.

Related Links:

• "God's Call and Our Response" by Joan McKamey
• Degrees of Separation: College Seniors Take a Spiritual Look at Graduation

Spirit Compass reflections are developed in partnership
with the Center for Ministry Development.