The Other Question

This Sunday, in the church where I am the pastor, we will recognize graduating high school seniors.  I have known these young adults for most, if not all, their lives.  We have worked together and played together and learned together and, sometimes, cried together.  While this Sunday will not be the last time I interact with them, the reality is that as they make the transition from high school to college my contact with them will be less rather than more.  So, I have been thinking about what I would like to say to them on Sunday.  Here is what I have found myself thinking about.

As they approach graduation and get ready for the college, the question they will be asked is: What do you plan to study?  What do you imagine yourself doing?  As I thought about it, it occurred to me there is another equally important question:  Who do you want to be?  No matter what you study or what you end up doing professionally, what type of person do you want to be.  That, it seems to me, is a question of values and character and purpose.  It is also a deeply religious question.  

As I thought about it more and began writing out what I would like to say, I realized it is a question I need to ask myself as well.  
What type of person do I want to be?  
Being the type of person I am I tend to focus on tasks.
What needs done?  
What is the next thing on the list?  
Check it off and move on to the next task.
Much of the time that is useful, but not always.
So, today I am going to do my best to ask the other question: 
What type of person do I want to be today?
And, to do my best to live towards being that type of person.