Our Christian Perspective
Will God Allow You To Enter The Gates of Heaven
With a "D" Average?
By Brother James
No matter how far you were blessed to go in school, you would have to agree with the following grading system: an "A" means excellence in achievement; a "B" means above average achievement; a "C" means average achievement; a "D" means below average but minimally passing achievement; and an "E" or "F" means failure in that given subject.. The question that now arises is, "when it comes to serving God are we putting forth the effort to get an "A" or are we satisfied, content to meet the minimum requirements and enter the gates of Heaven with a "D" average for our Christian efforts?
Recently, I was sitting in one of my Doctor's offices and was very impressed by all the Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates of academic achievement that adorned his office walls. As I waited to be seen, I casually looked at these diplomas and degrees and noticed they all had one thing in common. All of them had language that implied that the Doctor had "satisfactorily completed," or "Successfully met," or "completed the required hours of study" to be a recipient of that particular degree. Now, let us reflect on or as they say in my old neighborhood, "let's marinate on that for a moment!" "Satisfactorily completed," or "Successfully met," or "completed the required hours of study" means that my Doctor, who is prescribing me medications, operating on me, and / or sending me through a referral to another Doctor who is a Specialist, may have graduated from Medical School with a "D" average! He passed but where in his class was he by academic achievement compared to his peers. There was absolutely no verbiage in any of the degrees mounted on his office walls that said, "He Mastered", or "He excelled" or "He surpassed" the requirements for graduation! Again, all of his degrees basically implied that he just made a "passing grade." At West Point, the Air Force and Naval Academies they always publish where the future military leaders of this nation graduated in their graduating class. These graduates will boast, "I was first in my class," or "I was fifteenth in my class," but we never hear who was last in his or her graduating class at these military institutions of higher military tactical learning. But what we must understand is that under certain stressful and wartime conditions the person at the bottom of his or her graduating class may be placed in a critical position of leadership. They could conceivably be faced with making life and death decisions that could adversely affect the lives of our sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, etc. Scary huh? This is just as scary as not knowing where the anesthesiologist who puts me under before surgery or the Doctor who is operating on me could have passed, just barely passed with a "D" average. I am certain your health care professionals are proficient in their given medical specialty, but I am just using them in my example.
Does God want the least, "D" average efforts from us or does He want and should justifiably expect the best, "A" efforts from us? Does God care that we will sit in the rain overnight so we might get tickets to see a celebrity concert, or get tickets to a sports playoff event or even to be first in line to get the latest pair of Nikes or the newest I-Phone? All of these events take an "A" effort in preparation to withstand the elements and sit or stand outside overnight without the creature comforts of home, most notably the access and use of indoor plumbing.
Does the Lord say, "I love you so much and I do so much for you that it is okay for you to only show me an "A" effort when you need something from me? Is it okay to always be on time for social club meetings, sporting events and on time to our jobs and have a nearly perfect work record, but we are so habitually late to church that those who come on time could say, "oh, it must be 11:25am because Brother Theodosius Quackenbush just came in? (If your name just happens to be Theodosius Quackenbush, I am not talking about you!).."
Too many Christians believe that the minimal requirement to enter the kingdom of heaven, espoused in Romans 10:9, "If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (NIV)" is all that is required to get into heaven. God truly expects from us more than just a confession of our faith in Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. But there are those who feel that as long as they believe in Jesus they do not have to participate in any church ministry, contribute generously to the church, fellowship in their home based church but rather choose to watch church service on TV. And of course, there are those who rarely demonstrate Christian conduct and values on their jobs, in their families and neighborhoods that would create an environment conducive for others to want to become a Christian. These "D" average folks are not only manifesting worldly lifestyles but are totally immersed in the world. So, why would a non-believer want to become a Christian when they see those of us with a "D" average mentality acting, talking and thinking just like them?
I think God has certain expectations of each of us and His expectations are that we will ALWAYS put forth an "A" effort. I believe God does not care if we get a "B". or a "C" in our efforts to do His Will as long as we sincerely put forth an "A" effort. Just like most things in life, you will make a few mistakes along the way but as long as you are striving for perfection in your Christian walk you are on the right course! I know I am not alone as a former student who worked hard, and diligently to get an "A" in a particular class to only miss a couple of questions on a test or have the paper I wrote graded a "B," but I did put forth an "A" effort and that is what matters to me most. I gave that class all the energy and time I had to pass and that is what we must do to please God. We must always try to give Him our very best! We must always strive to give God the same level of effort as we do worldly things and worldly people. It is only FAIR!
Unpublished Materials Copyright © 2013 Henry James