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There is another story, though, that can't be entirely dismissed. In this story, wisdom looks like foolishness (and vice versa), infants have an edge on the educated, and the earth belongs to the meek, not the merit scholars. The one who was last in the class becomes both salutatorian and valedictorian, the one who welcomes us into the feast and the one who bids farewell to the world we thought we knew. He tells a story of a strange banquet whose unexpected guests "get in" through no fault, or merit, of their own. His story, full of upset expectations and undeserved gifts, squares no more easily with the American college dream than a camel squeezes through the eye of a needle. And the outcome of the Class of 2003's ultimate graduation day will depend on which story they finally decide is true.

Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Crouch is editor-in-chief of re:generation quarterly.

Many of Crouch's other writings are available at his and his wife's website.

Earlier Andy Crouch columns for Christianity Today include:

Christian Esperanto | We must learn other cultural tongues. (June 4, 2003)

We're Rich | But why is it so hard to admit? (Feb. 20, 2003)

Blinded by Pop Praise | To see God "high and lifted up," just open your eyes. (Dec. 17, 2002)

The Future Is P.O.D. | Multicultural voices have an edge in reaching a rapidly changing America. (October 12, 2002)

Rekindling Old Fires | We can resist technology's chilling effects on how we spend time together. (August 2, 2002)

Interstate Nation | The national highway system is a lesson in how to transform a nation. (June 21, 2002)

Amplified Versions | Worship wars come down to music and a power plug. (April 17, 2002)

Thou Shalt Be Cool | This enduring American slang leaves plenty out in the cold. (March 18, 2002)

Borrowing Against Time | We live in a fallen world. We will die. We need to face that. (Jan. 17, 2002)

Grounded | Our technologies give us an illusion of omnipresence—most of the time. (Nov. 15, 2001)

Zarathustra Shrugged | What apologetics should look like in a skeptical age. (Sept. 5, 2001)

Consuming Passions | One man's "testimony" from the First Great Mammon Awakening. (July 10, 2001)

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June 2003, Vol. 47, No. 6