We are enjoying warm and sunny days. So, it is no surprise that students in schools and colleges are sitting exams! Somehow the sun always seems to shine at revision and exam times. It is a very stressful time for the young people sitting important school, college and university exams which have implications for their future studies and employment. Normal education was seriously disrupted by the closure of schools during the Covid-19 pandemic. Industrial action by teachers has affected the run up to this year’s exams. In recent years exams have been replaced by teacher assessments, so for many A level students these will be the first public exams they have sat. It is no wonder that many students are experiencing problems with their mental health.
We expect those undertaking academic courses to be assessed to show how well they have understood what they have been taught. Yet, many of us seldom consider how our lives are being assessed by the living God who sees and knows all things. He has given us the moral standards by which we will be judged in the Ten Commandments. He requires us to worship only him, not to worship man-made idols, not to misuse his name, and to reserve one day each week for him. He also requires us to act righteously in our relationships with each other by honouring our parents, not committing murder or adultery, not stealing or bearing false witness, and not coveting anything that belongs to our neighbour.
The Bible and our own consciences testify to the fact that all of us have utterly failed to keep God’s commandments. The Bible says, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away, there is no one who does good, not even one. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Our situation is serious. One day each of us will stand before God and be judged by him. Our eternal destiny depends on our finding peace with God.
The Bible also teaches us the wonderful news of what God has done through his Son Jesus. The name Jesus means “Saviour”. When we repent of our sins and put our trust in him, we are forgiven and accepted by God as righteous because the perfect life Jesus lived is counted as ours and our sins are charged to him. He paid for them by his death in our place on the cross. One hymn says, “There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin, he only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in.”