Final Exams and the Spiritual Analogue

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I'm watching my students take final exams, and I am left wondering. Their greatest immediate concerns are their grades on this exam and this class. As a teacher, I want to make them understand the importance of being ready. This semester should have been one of preparation. This week should not have been one of cramming. Where is the joy in learning? This test should mark the end of a great semester of learning! Instead, I see misery and terror. Students hold the tests and are apoplectic. Several students will leave and be faced with failing grades in my class or other classes. I want to make something clear. I am their teacher. I love my students and would very much like for them to succeed. Where is their passion?

I am sure that many parallels can be drawn between this situation and people's spiritual lives. Since most of them are obvious, I will end with two quotes:
  • "If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." - C. S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory
  • "God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him." - John Piper in nearly every book he writes.

Comments

Caleb said…
Great post Joey. I of course am a student and one thing that I see ever single semester are all my fellow classmates who have been missing class all semester, not turning in assignments, and always asking me for answers or "what did we do in class last time?" and they are all freaking out because it's finals and they don't have a clue about anything. It's frustrating, but it's also the fallen world. Sadly I constantly find remnants of that same fallenness in myself when finals roll around. Anyway, I know that wasn't the exact direction you were going with the post but it just reminded me of that.

Also, the Founders meeting was cool. The bookstore had some really sweet books, you would have loved it. Nettles' sermon was really good at parts and other parts were a little over my head. But overall, it was very informative and has helped me better understand more about the history of Baptists and the whole Conservative Resurgence stuff. I liked it and I would definitely go again. Peace out.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
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