Although Hollywood's movies often don't reflect "real life," occasionally they carry life lessons which parallel teachings from our Book. In Disney’s The Princess Diaries, Mia Thermopolis has been told that she is Princess of Genovia. Mia initially rejects her role, but agrees to take "princess classes" in order to prepare for the Independence Day Ball in three weeks. The opportunity has come about because Mia's father has died, leaving Mia next in line for the throne. As part of her heritage, Mia's grandmother-the queen --presents her with a diary which contains a letter from her father.

Three weeks later, just prior to the Ball, Mia prepares to run away rather than announce to her grandmother, guests, and press at the Ball that she's decided to turn down the opportunity. As she packs the diary, her father's letter falls to the floor. As Mia reads the letter, she begins to understand that difficult decisions are a part of life . .

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. From now on, you will be traveling the road between whom you think you are and who you can be. The key is to allow yourself to make the journey."

Her father's words hit home; Mia changes her mind. In her acceptance speech, Mia states, "This morning I was Mia Thermopolis, but now I choose forever to be . . . Princess of Genovia!"

The words from the letter I referenced are also words to our graduates today, "From now on, you will be traveling the road between whom you think you are and who you can be." This is actually the case for all of us, but with our graduates facing new opportunities and being exposed to unfamiliar vistas, this road of discovery will take on new meanings. I am intrigued that graduation ceremonies are also called Commencements. The word commencement actually indicates a beginning rather than an ending, so a person’s graduation signifies new beginnings, to put your knowledge and accomplishments to fresh use.

Our text today focuses on Abram, whose name was later changed to Abraham. He was called by God to travel a road between whom he thought he was and who he could be. In Genesis 12:1, God told Abram to leave his homeland, his friends and family and go to a land "to be named later. "

In one sense, the command of God to Abram was very specific. Abram was told in detail what he must leave behind. He must leave his country, his relatives, and his father’s house. God was going to make a new nation, not merely revise an existing one. Little of the culture, religion, or philosophy of the people of Ur was to be part of what was planned for God’s people, Israel. On the other hand, God’s command was deliberately vague. While what was to be left behind was crystal clear, what lay ahead was distressingly devoid of detail: "… to the land which I will show you."

Leaving the familiar is always difficult. I remember when I left for college. I am the oldest child in my family; my parents did not go away to college. I am the oldest grandchild on my mom’s side and was the first grandchild on my dad’s side to go to college. My high school class had 91 graduates; the entire school had just over 500 students. When I entered the University of Georgia, I became one of 21,000 students, and no one else from my class went to UGA. I was in the first graduating class of Feldwood High School, a new school created because of the necessary redistricting due to suburban growth; no one from my school had preceded me to UGA. I knew no one. My family and I placed everything we thought I needed in their 1971 Chevrolet stationwagon and my 1964 ½ Mustang Fastback. I still can remember that Sunday afternoon, when we had unpacked my stuff, gotten my room set up, and had a good meal. When we walked out of the dorm, we exchanged hugs and kisses, said "I love you," and they drove away. I noticed that they were teary; I held back the tears until the blue stationwagon was out of sight, and then I began to cry.

I had left the security of my family, the daily routine, home-cooked meals, and the safety in knowing and in being known. I had moved from the house where I had lived since I was five to a dorm that housed more than 100 young men. I left friends and neighbors and entered a community of strangers and aliens. I cautiously and fearfully got on the road to find out who I could be.

Graduates, you also face the unknown. The future before you is as open and expansive as the nighttime sky. You are leaving the familiar of your past and entering a future with as many opportunities as the stars in that sky.

Mia, in The Princess Diaries, realized that difficult decisions are a part of life. I had to face that as a college freshman. Now you are facing that challenge: life in a new city, real-world challenges of work and making a living, living away from home, making new friends and finding or creating a new community. Abram also faced a difficult decision. Such a venture would indeed require great faith on Abram’s part. Maintaining ties with family and homeland had an importance for ancient people that modern people can rarely understand. In the ancient east it was through belonging to one’s extended family that a person had identity and security. The idea of separating himself from the heritage of his family would have involved a great sense of threat to his personal identity and future. Abram’s mission was not to perpetuate the heritage of his ancestry; his mission was to begin with God a new stream of life and heritage. He was familiar with where he lived, yet God called him to leave everything, which is only part of the request. Abram did not even know where he would settle. As the writer to the Hebrews put it, "… he went out, not knowing where he was going" (Hebrews 11:8).

The relationship between the command of God to Abram in verse one and the incident at Babel in chapter 11 should not be overlooked. At Babel men chose to disregard the command of God to disperse and populate the earth. They strove to find security and renown by banding together and building a great city (11:3-4). They sought blessing in the product of their own labors, rather than in the promise of God.

The command of God to Abram is, in effect, a reversal of what man attempted at Babel. Abram was secure and comfortable in Ur, a great city. God called him to leave that city and to exchange his townhouse for a tent. God promised Abram a great name (what the people of Babel sought, 11:4) as a result of leaving Ur, leaving the security of his relatives, and trusting only in God. How unlike humans’ ways are from God’s ways.

God made great promises to Abram and Abram followed. Nearly one-fourth of the book of Genesis is devoted to this man’s life. The New Testament in no way diminishes the significance of the life and character of Abraham. There are nearly 75 references to him in the New Testament. Paul chose Abraham as the finest example of a man who is justified before God by faith apart from works, as we read in Romans 4.

Paul wrote to the church at Rome that Abraham was to be admired not because he kept the Law. He is not given such a prominent place in Scripture because he lived a legalistic lifestyle, meaning that his life was filled with do’s and don’ts. Instead Paul indicated that Abraham and his offspring became a great nation because they lived by faith. They followed God. They listened to God. They trusted God even when they didn’t even know where they were going.

Graduates, as your pastor, I have a shocking statement for you; this comes from a person who has graduated from high school and three other institutions of higher learning. This troubling realization comes from a 41-year-old husband and father who has more white hair than most people his age. Ready? Here’s the shocking statement: "none of you know where you are going."

You may have plans for college, hopes for a new job or a deposit on a new apartment. You may have aspirations of seeking available possibilities, networking with previous contacts or simply keeping your options open. But in reality, none of you know where you are going.

The fact is that none of us know where we are going. Ultimately, we may know. If we have accepted Christ as our Savior, we know that eventually we will end up in heaven, but life is so uncertain, that none of us can control our futures. Only God knows where we are going. We can prepare for the journey into the unknown by getting educated, by having insurance for catastrophes or by eliminating risks. But since the future belongs to God, then it is foolish to try to control it.

Ten years ago, I never dreamed that I would have my doctorate now; I never even considered the degree until five years ago. When we moved to Kenbridge eight years ago, I never dreamed that we would be here now, and that life could be this good. Planning your futures is prudent, but you cannot control everything. That is why faith is so important.

The writer of Hebrews wrote, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God." Without faith, we cannot even have a relationship with God. Since we cannot reach out and tangibly touch the Deity, we have to have faith to allow for the existence of God. That is only the first step. Living by faith involves trusting in God and believing in hope. Abram believed and trusted God to go to a place he knew not. Graduates, that is your call today. From now on, you will be traveling the road between whom you think you are and who you can be. The key is not only to allow yourself to make the journey, but to trust God wherever you go.

Paul reminded the Church at Rome again and again that they could not control the mystery; their actions could not harness the future and determine everything. Only God can do that. So if only God can do that, then why not trust God to take you where you can be used.

God did not send Jesus into the world so that we could focus on the dos and don’ts of life. God sent Jesus to us so that we could better know God. Living by faith involves us knowing God and trusting God.

Jennifer and I have been married for almost fifteen years. When we began dating, I was not interested in her because I thought she could stretch a dollar, or because she could decorate a home well or even because she could cut my hair. She did not become interested in me because I could work on her car, or because I because I could wash dishes, or because I didn’t have a criminal record. We were interested in each other as persons, not for what each could do for the other. Because I love her, I try to do my part around the house and because she loves me, Jennifer does the same. The focus is on relationship, not on what we can do for each other.

Like the church at Rome, we are to have faith because of a relationship with Jesus Christ. Allowing God to control the future and trusting that God will be with us encourages us while we travel the road between whom we think we are and who we can be.

The faith to which we are called is not faith in a plan, but faith in a person. Much more important than where Abram was, God was concerned with who he was, and in Whom he trusted. God is not nearly so concerned with geography as with godliness.

Lewis Smedes, Professor Emeritus of Theology and Ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary has said "What really matters is not whether Abraham is good or bad or cowardly or heroic, but that God pursues God’s design for the welfare of the human family with people like that--in other words, people like us."

What really matters is how we travel the journey of faith. Only God knows what will happen to any of us. May we trust God on this journey of faith.