Tested Before Proven

Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.C. S. Lewis

In case you can't tell by the title of the blog, I love airplanes. In fact, I have a fascination with most modern marvels that extend human capability: trains, planes, bridges, cars, you name it. But none of these inventions became what they are over night nor without proper proving and testing.

When we allow God to move in our lives it works the same way. In order for us to reach our full potential and purpose, we have to undergo a period (actually, several periods) of testing and proving ourselves ready to move to the next level.

Testing 1, 2, 3. Seriously, would you want to fly in an airplane that hasn't proved it's ability to fully function as an airplane ought to? I wouldn't! How then can we expect to be who we're meant to be without proper testing and proving? There is a huge element of responsibility in carrying out God's purpose for our lives that He and we have to know for sure that we're ready to go. Just like we entrust our life in the air to planes, we have to be able to trust and believe in ourselves. No "fake it til" you make it here.

Multiple Choice? Essay? What does testing look like? It's been my experience that you should be careful what you ask for because God will give it to you in ways that you don't expect! If you ask for patience, He'll send an "annoying" co-worker. If you ask for love He'll send you someone who needs it more. If you ask for success He will teach you how to handle failure. God uses unique challenges in our lives to test our ability to respond and overcome. Through that overcoming we find out who we are and gain the wisdom and experience to help shape us into who we are called to be.

Have you experienced testing and proving in an area of your life? Did you think you were ready to fly but found out you weren't yet?

Passing The Test

Grace: This is NOT a test!

I came across this story while in my studies and I thought I'd share it. While it's not the full length of the devotional, it's a great story depicting what grace really is and how it applies to our faith. What are your thoughts?

YOU RELATE TO GOD AND OTHERS GRATEFULLY MATTHEW 20:1-16

 

Denise Banderman left work early so she could have some extra, uninterrupted
study time before her final exam in a youth ministry class at the Christian college
she attended. When she got to class, everybody was doing their last-minute
studying. The teacher, Dr. Tom Hufty, came in and said he would review with
them before the test. Most of his review came right from the study guide, but
there were some things he was reviewing that Denise had never heard. When
questioned about it, he said they were in the book and they were responsible for
everything in the book. They couldn't argue with that. Finally it was time to take
the test. "Leave them face down on the desk until everyone has one,” Dr. Hufty
instructed, “and I'll tell you when to start."

When they turned the tests over, the students saw, to their astonishment, that
every answer on the test was filled in. Denise’s name was even written on the
exam in red ink. At the bottom of the last page Dr. Hufty had written these words:
"This is the end of the exam. All the answers on your test are correct. You will
receive an A on the final exam. The reason you passed the test is because the
creator of the test took it for you. All the work you did in preparation for this test
did not help you get the A. You have just experienced…grace." Dr. Hufty then
went around the room and asked each student individually, "What is your grade?
Do you deserve the grade you are receiving? How much did all your studying for
this exam help you achieve your final grade?" Then he said, "Some things you
learn from lectures, some things you learn from research, but some things you
can only learn from experience. You've just experienced grace. If you know
Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, your name is written down in a book, and
you had nothing to do with writing it there. That is the ultimate grace experience."
 

When Jesus is King, you relate to God and others gratefully. You live with God
because of grace. You serve God because of love.

We've Got Work To Do

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."- Ephesians 2:10 (NIV 2010 Edition)

Back when I was in undergrad, one of the cool things about college was that you could pick from a TON of courses to fill the requirements for your major. To fulfill your English class you could take regular English, Poetry 101, Shakespeare, or some other courses. The same would go for math, science, etc. etc.


The interesting thing about all of these classes is that no matter which class I'd pick, I would get the syllabus at the beginning of the semester and freak out. "You want me to write a 25 page paper on what?!?!" I'd say as I go back to the registration website and look for new classes. But the bottom line was that a class had to be picked and a class had to be completed. Imagine my amazement when I'd reach the end of the semester and receive a passing grade on the course when prior to the class I may have known little to no information about the subject matter. I had learned so much along the way that it all actually prepared me for the exams and papers at the end of the class.


That's a little bit like how God works.


Before we were even born, God knew us. Not only did He know us in the past tense but He knew what we would become, who we would marry, what jobs we would have, and so on and so on. As we came into the world and continued to live out our days, we would come across different life hurdles or challenges that test us or prove us in a certain way. Sort of like an invisible syllabus. 


See, God has already scripted out our lives and allows us to go through learning, growing and doing good things along the way. That is what the passage in Ephesians teaches us. Life is not a matter of happenstance or luck of the draw. Instead it is a set collection of opportunities that God set in our path long before we even knew we'd get there. 


If you've been studying and learning along the way, that will help you pass every test!