The Final Exam

Indian Chief ‘Two Eagles’, well known for his wisdom and leadership abilities, was asked by a government official, “You have observed the white man for 90 years. You’ve seen his wars and his technological advances. You’ve seen his progress, his failures and the damage he’s left behind.” The Chief nodded in agreement. The official continued, “Considering all these events, in your opinion, where did the white man go wrong?” The Chief stared at the government official for over a minute and then calmly replied, “When white man find land, Indian running things. No taxes. No Debt. Plenty buffalo. Plenty beaver. Plenty clean water. Women did all the work. Medicine man free. Indian man spend all day hunting and fishing.” Then the Chief sat back in his chair and smiled, “Only white man dumb enough to think he can improve system like that.”
We just don’t seem to be happy with what we have for very long. It seems we have to continually change our environment, stimulating our lifestyles, in an attempt to keep ourselves happy day after day. Today we find ourselves in a real pickle over finances. A bad habit of living out of our means, to support the lifestyle we want, has brought us into a state of great testing. What are we going to do now? Where will we go from here? Have we learned anything from our mistakes? Are we going to pass the test? I think the majority of people will pass and the world will press forward into the future, but the future is definitely going to be different as we realign our lifestyles to fit the changing environment. Speaking about final exams, a mathematics teacher in a small community college, put it this way. “Each semester, while grading final exams, I’m always amazed at a few of the scores. Typically I will have one or two students do exceedingly well on the final – students that need a good grade to pass the class. They prepare themselves to the best of their ability. There are others who only need a decent grade, yet they end up bombing the exam because they don’t adequately prepare themselves. Their poor exam grade sometimes lower their grade average so much they sometimes fail the course.” I think life and living needs to be a daily exam of wants and needs. Will what we do today benefit us tomorrow or hurt us in the long run? Are we living strictly on speculation or are we building on firm knowledge? Good times are still ahead for those who adapt.
[2 Corinthians 5: 10] And when life has ended, or the Lord appears in the eastern sky, it will be time for each of us to take our final exam. All things of your life will be examined, whether good or bad. One of the questions will be, did you except or reject the son of God, Jesus? Most educators spend at least a week with students, in review of their course teaching, preparing them for what to expect on the final exam. Our loving, compassionate God is no different. He has made it well known what will be on our final exam. Here’s a Cliff Note for you. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 22:34-40) The day of your test will come like a pop quiz in grade school, we simply don’t know when. (1 Thess. 5:1-3) Read on through the rest of that chapter and you will discover that those who are found in Christ, and living a righteous life, will pass with flying colors. Can you afford to be unprepared for your final exam? If you flunk a mathematics course, you can take it over. This life cannot be repeated to get it right.