When I was in Graduate School, where God had sent me; we learned about mission statements. Here is my statement for this site:
We aim to help people build their faith based on the Word of God and not our opinions.
We will pray before we give you any words here so as not to waste your time. You are too valuable, too precious. We profess love for our neighbors, so our words will be love based. We are not a political voice, but a spiritual voice. We are quite sympathetic to the needs of the world, but we put our trust in God and not in man without exception. We believe that faith is what we all need and that it must be fueled daily. That is why we bring you a word in season each and every day. Our mission is to minister to you. God is in control.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Saturday, April 28, 2007
The Great Exam (A short story) by Elaine Davenport
A certain young man wanted to attend the Number One school in the world. IN ORDER TO DO THIS, HE WOULD HAVE TO TAKE A MAJOR TEST. His success could only be assured, if he passed it. Failure was not an option. He had prepared himself all of his life according to the best of his ability; in every way that he knew how for this situation. There had been glitches and schisms in the past but TO HIS KNOWLEDGE, it had all been corrected! He was taught by great men and women, who taught him the way that they had been taught. As time progressed, more and more new truths were revealed to him and he perfected and redirected himself. He was a complete book worm, a true student of the law that had been presented to him. It was the way of his fathers.
He had great memorization skills; second to none. He possessed a photogenic memory if you will. He also had a network of friends who thought like him, had the same goals and objectives. They believed in their cause so greatly and they were so dedicated that it became a lifestyle for them. Right or wrong, they were often misunderstood and in some cases, they were understood even better than they knew themselves.
There came a time when they as individuals had to take a great test. As a group; they were very powerful and very focused. They even had great strategy to attack this major exam and be a success. They had to be perfect in every way when they took this exam and they knew it. There would be no room for error, there could be no margins for failure. They diagnosed everything around them from their group perspective of identifying situations. They felt no need to assess things from any other angle or vantage point. Theirs was the way and they were sure.
There was a very minor flaw and it would show itself strong at a very inopportune time. Whether that would be critical or not would be determined by the test results.
The day of the test came and they were pleased to announce that they had studied and rested. They knew in advance that a select group would pass the test. Though their numbers were off, they were correct in thinking that it would be just a percentage of all who took the test.
According to their calculations only those who were a part of their group could take the test and pass it. Their calculations also showed that even after that; only one in 41 of them would pass it. They had retained many many facts. The preparation for this exam for them had taken a lifetime. They knew Reading, Spelling, Writing, Mathematics, Logistics, Science, The Solar System. Statistics, enough about most subjects that they deemed necessary. More importantly theyt knew the letter of the law. That surely would count for much. They had a guide book and had even studied it well and picked the things they deemed most important based on what they were taught.
Let me say that what they knew was far more detailed than what the average person knew.
On the day of the test, they were surprised to see so many people there who were not of their discipline. In fact, as they looked around they saw that EVERYBODY was there to take the same test. It was crowded but surely there was electricity and excitement in the air!
In a distant room, they heard screaming and crying and they heard laughter and joy, all at different times.
They took the test and all seemed well in their hearts. They were truly sincere. The test was graded on the spot for each of them as they turned in their answers and went before the review board.
I’d love to make this story sound lovely at this point and tell you that they passed, but that would be a lie. They were never taught comprehension to mix with all of their facts that were taught to them. "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth." 2 Timothy 3: 15
They had never ventured to rightly divide the Word of Truth for themselves.
So, though they had the facts, they didn’t have them all and when asked to lay them out, they could not nor were they able to explain in a sensible way what the facts meant.
AS A RESULT, THEY WERE NOT ADMITTED TO THE TOP SCHOOL.
Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the light. No man comes to the Father but by me. “
I cannot stand by and say nothing …
I am trusting God that this letter will not fall on deaf ears for it is a letter of love, a seed to be watered and it will reap a harvest! All is well.
______________________________________________________________________________________
He had great memorization skills; second to none. He possessed a photogenic memory if you will. He also had a network of friends who thought like him, had the same goals and objectives. They believed in their cause so greatly and they were so dedicated that it became a lifestyle for them. Right or wrong, they were often misunderstood and in some cases, they were understood even better than they knew themselves.
There came a time when they as individuals had to take a great test. As a group; they were very powerful and very focused. They even had great strategy to attack this major exam and be a success. They had to be perfect in every way when they took this exam and they knew it. There would be no room for error, there could be no margins for failure. They diagnosed everything around them from their group perspective of identifying situations. They felt no need to assess things from any other angle or vantage point. Theirs was the way and they were sure.
There was a very minor flaw and it would show itself strong at a very inopportune time. Whether that would be critical or not would be determined by the test results.
The day of the test came and they were pleased to announce that they had studied and rested. They knew in advance that a select group would pass the test. Though their numbers were off, they were correct in thinking that it would be just a percentage of all who took the test.
According to their calculations only those who were a part of their group could take the test and pass it. Their calculations also showed that even after that; only one in 41 of them would pass it. They had retained many many facts. The preparation for this exam for them had taken a lifetime. They knew Reading, Spelling, Writing, Mathematics, Logistics, Science, The Solar System. Statistics, enough about most subjects that they deemed necessary. More importantly theyt knew the letter of the law. That surely would count for much. They had a guide book and had even studied it well and picked the things they deemed most important based on what they were taught.
Let me say that what they knew was far more detailed than what the average person knew.
On the day of the test, they were surprised to see so many people there who were not of their discipline. In fact, as they looked around they saw that EVERYBODY was there to take the same test. It was crowded but surely there was electricity and excitement in the air!
In a distant room, they heard screaming and crying and they heard laughter and joy, all at different times.
They took the test and all seemed well in their hearts. They were truly sincere. The test was graded on the spot for each of them as they turned in their answers and went before the review board.
I’d love to make this story sound lovely at this point and tell you that they passed, but that would be a lie. They were never taught comprehension to mix with all of their facts that were taught to them. "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth." 2 Timothy 3: 15
They had never ventured to rightly divide the Word of Truth for themselves.
So, though they had the facts, they didn’t have them all and when asked to lay them out, they could not nor were they able to explain in a sensible way what the facts meant.
AS A RESULT, THEY WERE NOT ADMITTED TO THE TOP SCHOOL.
Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the light. No man comes to the Father but by me. “
I cannot stand by and say nothing …
I am trusting God that this letter will not fall on deaf ears for it is a letter of love, a seed to be watered and it will reap a harvest! All is well.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
