Gospel-centered Grades (by Jason Cornwell)
Ah, now that school is back in full swing, we get to deal w/ the dreaded monster known as grades. Teachers have to give 'em, students have to earn 'em & their very presence hangs over our heads like that ex- that just won't go away. Isn't it great? You study your brains out & work your keister off in order to prep for that big test the next day, only to get jacked up by it & have it eat your lunch. So what does the Gospel have to do w/ grades? Only everything.
You see, we get upset by grades when we think our identity rests in how people percieve us. We want people to percieve us as intelligent & diligent & if we get a poor grade, they'll think poorly of us. But the Gospel changes that. The Gospel says I'm identified with Christ. God has accepted me in Christ & made me a child of His, with all the rights that come with it. I'm always in Christ no matter what. A bad grade can't change that. The Gospel also restores the created order. It says I can work hard in school in order to do well, not so that people will think I'm smart or God will like me more, but b/c the Gospel empowers me to be a good steward of the mental resources I've been given.
So study hard! But remember you're accepted in spite of your GPA because Jesus has earned a perfect record before the Father & credited it to you.
Jason is finishing up a M.Div. at RTS of Charlotte, NC.
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Jason, thanks for the extremely helpful insights. They will prove to be of tremendous value to my wife and I as we embark on homeschooling our four children (starting last week!). And thanks for the previous one on self-examination. It is so good to hear you say what you said about not being afraid to look inward. The truth is that we ought not be afraid because no matter how ugly it looks, Christ is the King there and His gospel scepter has touched it with the righteousness of God! How encouraging!
Jason,
Encouraging post..the Gospel truly does free us from human standards of success by being in Christ, but also liberates us to work hard enpowered by Him as a good steward. Thank you for being an example of this by living it out; studing often (even on Saturdays practically all day, even when your friends give you a hard time for it :) ).
Thanks for helping me to refocus that it's not about what others think but it's about my identity in Christ-needed the reminder to not focus on man whose breath is in his nostrils as Isaiah would say. :)