“My grace is all you need.” ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9
Energy drinks, snacks? Check. Textbooks, notes, highlighters? Double
Check!
It was her second all-nighter this week. Sara hated taking tests. She was way smarter than the grades she got. Tomorrow’s exam on “Theological Issues” left
her clueless. She wouldn’t know the
answers; she probably wouldn’t even understand the questions. But Sara trudged on.
The loud banging at her door woke her abruptly. Sara checked her phone. Damn! She’d
missed several calls from a friend who’d called rightly fearing Sara had fallen
asleep.
She threw on some clothes, grabbed a pencil off her desk,
and scrambled out the door.
As she scurried past Memorial Hall, she stepped wrong,
sprained her ankle and fell in the crosswalk. At the same moment, a city bus drove by adding
to her embarrassment by having about 15 people watch Sara fall flat on her
face. Sara rose quickly, brushed herself
off and limped to Avery Hall as fast as she could. She arrived just as Monsignor was handing out
the exam.
“Leave them face down on the desk until everyone has one and
I’ll tell you when to start,” he instructed.
When Sara turned it over, every answer on the test was filled
in! The bottom of the last page said the following:
“This completes your Final Exam. All these answers are correct; you’ll receive
an ‘A’ on this test. The reason you
passed the test is because the test’s creator took it for you. All your prep work didn’t help - you have just
experienced . . . GrAce.”
Monsignor went around the room and asked each divinity student
individually, “Do you deserve the grade you are receiving? How much did all your studying help you
achieve your final grade?”
Not usually prone to crying, Sara fought back tears
imagining how the Creator has passed the test for her. Only through Jesus Christ are we offered
grace, a free gift. All and every
success we have is not ours, but rather a result of God's grace at work in us.
Monsignor said he’d never done this kind of final exam before
and probably would never do it again.
But because of the content of many of the class discussions, he felt
like they needed to experience grace to understand it.
God’s grace is amazing!
As the undeserved, unearned favor from God, grace can never be earned by
our good deeds or received as a result of religious performance. Grace means God freely and openly receives us sinners
- even you with all our flaws and hang-ups. His grace transforms an ugly, awkward,
incomplete caterpillar into a graceful butterfly that can soar into life
abundant. That’s His desire for each of us.
God
of Love, thank You for the many, many blessings we enjoy this day: the air we
breathe, the fresh water to quench our thirst, the beauty of this world where
we live. Help us to live a life of cheerfulness and have faith in all that is
good. Amen
