I hate exams. I hate 'em!

My school allocates a whole week to just giving semester exams. Since they're 10 percent of our grade, teachers often spend a week preparing us for these exams.

Yet, with all of this preparation, some students still don't succeed at taking their exams. Some students do no work to prepare for them. Others work hard, spend lots of time studying and learn all they can before they take the dreaded tests. Others just don't care and then wonder why they scored so low.

Yet is there something we as Christians and vertical thinkers can learn from exams?

Spiritual exams?

Do we also have spiritual exams? Are there spiritual tests that we have to take?

According to Peter, yes, there are (1 Peter 1:6-7)! These spiritual exams are trials, and they often prove more painful and far more serious than any school exams that we may take. While those exams are 10 percent of our grade, how we do during trials can make the difference between eternal life and eternal death.

Preparation

We do have time now to prepare for these exams. Daily Bible study helps us get ready for these tests. Like the school exams, there are three different ways to prepare for our spiritual exams.

Those who don't study

At school there are those who do no work. They rarely study. It's not that they don't care, it's just that they are too busy doing extracurricular activities. Others have jobs and, by the time they get home, it's too late to study. There are also those who just forget to study or can't study because they are easily distracted.

This variety of excuses for not studying for exams applies to our spiritual lives as well. However, that does not excuse those who do this. Jesus explains in the parable of the sower that some people could pass the exam, but let the cares of the world distract them, causing them to flunk (Matthew 13:22). As the old adage goes, you make time for what's important to you.

Those who study

There are some who actually do study for the exams. Like the Bereans, they study their Bibles daily and do their best on the exams. They recognize the exams for what they are and give the tests the importance in their life that they deserve. When it comes time to take the test they are prepared. They took the time and the effort to study and put the exams high on their priority list so that they could be sure to pass it.

Those who don't care

There are those who don't care about what they're going to be when they are out of school and in the real world—or the Kingdom of God. They live for the moment. They don't make an effort to pass the tests and won't change until someone or something causes them to take stock and turn their lives around.

Acing God's test

We can ace the tests that God gives us. We may stumble every now and then since none of us are perfect, but God allows us retake some of our exams. All we have to do is study for these exams before they come so that we can be prepared and score high when the time comes.

To learn more about how to understand the Bible, check out these Teen Bible Study Discussion Guides. I wish us all luck on our upcoming exams. VT