When I was in high school, I was in an advanced biology class as a senior. We had maybe the toughest teacher I’ve ever had…and most likely the best. Each class we had a reading assignment for the next day and every day in the class…we had a test! I missed one day and he had a rule that you could make up any test any day before school started. I came back and told him I’d like to take the test tomorrow. I looked over the material and came in for the test…and found out it was an oral exam! He opened our book and said, “Please trace the journey of a grain of sand as it makes its way through the digestive system of a clam.” I started that grain of sand’s journey
and stumbled around for a minute, and my teacher slammed our text shut and said, “You don’t know this.” And I just got up and left me there. I was embarrassed and pretty humiliated. But when I came for class later, I swallowed hard and said that I’d like to try that test again. He said, “You can make up any quiz, any day before school starts.” I worked on that clam’s digestive system until I knew it thoroughly. But I knew that was just one question and we usually had ten. I went back the next morning and asked to be tested. He opened the text and said, “Trace the journey of a grain of sand through the digestive system of a clam.” I took that grain from the ocean through every part of that clam and back into the ocean. He looked at me and didn’t say a word…he just closed the book and began to tell me about some of his experiences with shellfish in the reef areas of Australia and the wonders of seeing in person so much of what we were studying. That was it. I got an A. He taught me what it meant to really know something. All humans have a test that we will have to pass to have eternal life. It isn’t facts or figures…it is knowing God. Jesus is on record saying that the way to have eternal life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent to earth. I had to spend some significant time with the biology text to actually know what was required of me. For us, it will mean spending time with God…so that we actually know him and his love and forgiveness and his purpose for our lives. It isn’t enough to kind of scan God, say the right words and figure that’s all he wants. He wants us to know him so that we can and will trust him with our lives and fortunes and our ultimate future. The plan is to enjoy and obey him now and live not just for our moments here, but for a life that is eternal and different from what we know now. And to do that will take time. Time for worship with others, time to know him through his Bible and time speak to him and hear from him in prayer. Take time to really get to know God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Because that is the beginning of eternal life. Here’s our Bible verse for today…
John 17:3 NLT And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ
and stumbled around for a minute, and my teacher slammed our text shut and said, “You don’t know this.” And I just got up and left me there. I was embarrassed and pretty humiliated. But when I came for class later, I swallowed hard and said that I’d like to try that test again. He said, “You can make up any quiz, any day before school starts.” I worked on that clam’s digestive system until I knew it thoroughly. But I knew that was just one question and we usually had ten. I went back the next morning and asked to be tested. He opened the text and said, “Trace the journey of a grain of sand through the digestive system of a clam.” I took that grain from the ocean through every part of that clam and back into the ocean. He looked at me and didn’t say a word…he just closed the book and began to tell me about some of his experiences with shellfish in the reef areas of Australia and the wonders of seeing in person so much of what we were studying. That was it. I got an A. He taught me what it meant to really know something. All humans have a test that we will have to pass to have eternal life. It isn’t facts or figures…it is knowing God. Jesus is on record saying that the way to have eternal life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent to earth. I had to spend some significant time with the biology text to actually know what was required of me. For us, it will mean spending time with God…so that we actually know him and his love and forgiveness and his purpose for our lives. It isn’t enough to kind of scan God, say the right words and figure that’s all he wants. He wants us to know him so that we can and will trust him with our lives and fortunes and our ultimate future. The plan is to enjoy and obey him now and live not just for our moments here, but for a life that is eternal and different from what we know now. And to do that will take time. Time for worship with others, time to know him through his Bible and time speak to him and hear from him in prayer. Take time to really get to know God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Because that is the beginning of eternal life. Here’s our Bible verse for today…
John 17:3 NLT And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ