Preparing For Our Finals

Here's what matters most.

During my years of teaching high school juniors and seniors, my students often asked questions like, “Is this going to be on the final exam?”  

I used to be a little annoyed at that, believing everything I taught was important, but looking back, they were just being smart. In the same way, as we all face our ultimate 'finals', we need to ask, “What does God consider of greatest importance?”

As we review the textbook we expect to be judged by, we realize the Bible is a very big book, and we might not, for example, be able to get all 613 commands in the Torah just right. But we do certainly want to get the main things right. We want to learn what God is most passionate about, and to keep our eyes open for statements like the greatest commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your might and with all your strength,” and the one given equal importance, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 

We want to be sure to underline things like that.

Then there's Jesus's mission statement straight from the prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor, to proclaim release for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s Jubilee.” 

And elsewhere, in the last chapter of the book of Hebrews, we have a summary of some key points to remember, five commands that are like an abbreviated version of the Ten Commandments. In my Bible they're under the heading “Closing Exhortations”. As I've always told my students, a good place to look for material to review are the summary statements at the end of a chapter or section. 

In Hebrews 13 he first of these is, “Keep on loving each other.” 

But not only each other, but secondly, “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers." Be on the lookout for angels in the form of aliens, immigrants, refugees. 

Then there’s "Remember those in prison, as though you yourself were in bonds, and those who are mistreated as if you yourself were suffering."

And "Marriage should be honored by everyone, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and the immoral."

Then there’s a hard one, but sure to be on the test, "Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have." 

These are all commands that are easily neglected in a society that urges us to selfishly pursue our own comfort, convenience and pleasure.

Just over a year ago I had the privilege of speaking at the memorial service of Rachel Stoltzfus, a saintly member of our house church. She and her husband Robert, who had passed away over a decade before, took in international students in their home, dozens of them over the years. They loved everybody, they cared for others' needs, and lived simply. Rachel was well prepared for her final exam as taught by Jesus:

"I was hungry and thirsty and you… gave me food and drink." Check.

"I was a stranger and you… invited me into your home." Check.

"I was homeless and you… clothed and sheltered me." Check.

"I was sick and in prison, and you…visited me." Check.

Jesus concludes this section of Matthew 25 by saying that to such people, like Rachel, God will say,"Come you blessed of my Father, enjoy the inheritance prepared for you from the creation of the world.”

This doesn't mean we earn our passing grade by our good works. Jesus’ good news is that whenever we are willing to repent and to take up his cross we become both an agent of God's amazing grace and a recipient of it, a grace that doesn’t ask for recognition or reward, and that gives extravagantly without complaining or without seeking gain.

That’s how things work in God’s economy. Receive love. Give love. Repeat. And Receive grace, give grace. Repeat.

That’s sure to be on the test.