BEING TESTED

I am a teacher in a Christian school. This is a wonderful thing because it allows us to talk about God and Jesus in class. We can discuss what God wants us to do in any situation. Also, it reminds me that in class we have tests and quizzes . . . not very popular at times, but necessary, nonetheless.

What does God want us to do? Micah tells us in the Bible that we are to be fair, kind and love God. Jesus adds to this in Mark when He tells us to love God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Now these are quite simple rules — not hard to remember and not hard to follow . . . unless.

Here’s where we come to tests and quizzes – evaluations if you will. God gives them to us all the time. We know the standards, and God gives us the chance to see if we meet them. Here’s an example. I went to a Christian Teachers’ Conference for two days. I felt pretty saintly. Coming home, I had to take the Metro to my car. Here comes the test. I had to use one of those prepaid cards to get out of the parking lot, and, of course, I’d done something wrong and it didn’t work. I had to back out of the gate, repark and start again. Well, I was not fair or kind to the Metro agent. I was upset and cranky and mean. All of my saintly training was lost in an instant. I failed my test, big time. God tested me, in a little quiz, and I failed (The Metro agent got an A).

Here’s the good news. God didn’t give up on me. He gave me a chance to do better. He gives us a new chance every day. Even when we make mistakes, errors in judgment, in all sizes, God lets us learn from our mistakes and try again. He loves us so much that He never stops trying to help us improve. I’ll have more chances to be kind and love my neighbor. Maybe my latest mistake will help me to remember. God is there, hand on my shoulder, urging me on. “Keep trying,” He says. “You’ll do better.”

Thank you, God, for another chance.

— Bev Kinego

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist