Life’s Report Card

2 Corinthians 6:4
“But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,”

A person who thinks that they don’t have to prove anything to anyone is foolish. No matter what you do in life, you are always proving yourself to others. The athlete is always proving themselves when they go out to the field of play. The politician is always proving themselves with what they get done and with every vote. The employee is always proving themselves with their daily performance. Though there is no quarterly report card you get from someone so you can see your grades, others are constantly grading you by your performance.

The Christian life is no different. In the verse above, Paul made it clear that the Christian, and especially the preacher, is always “approving” themselves to the world. The world grades the Christian by how they deal with life. The world grades the Christian by their patience, by how they endure trials, and by how they deal with the daily needs of life. Your life is constantly being graded by the lost as well as the saved. The question you need to ask yourself is what grade will your present performance give you? Let me make a couple statements about your life’s report card.

First, past report cards only carry you to the present. Just because you got a good grade on your spiritual report card in the past doesn’t make you a good Christian today. Many Christians are sitting in the church pews every Sunday who think they are a good Christian because of their past accomplishments. It is wonderful that the LORD used you in the past, but your past isn’t setting your grade for the future. There is always the next generation who is grading your life by what you do today. There must come a point when you stop relying on past achievements and start doing something to give yourself a good grade tomorrow.

Second, your future report card will only be as good as your present performance. Can you imagine the student going to their principal and saying that they made the honor roll in the past, so they don’t have to do anything else to pass their present classes? This would be laughable if this happened; however, many Christians believe they can do this with the world. My friend, the world around you is looking at how you presently perform. They know nothing about your “name” or what you have done in the past. The world sees if you are staying home from church. The world reads your posts on social media. The world watches how you face life’s hardships. The world is looking at your present performance and grading you accordingly.

Christian, if we took the past year and graded your performance for Christ without any consideration of your past, what would your grade be? Always remember that your Christianity is only as good as your last performance for Christ. If you are presently doing nothing for the LORD, you are giving yourself a failing grade. Let me encourage you to throw your past report cards away and start earning a passing grade for the future. Base the effort of every action on what type of grade your Saviour would want you to have. Realize the world around you needs to see a Christian who is not just passing, but making God’s honor roll. You will only receive high marks on your spiritual report card by reaching forth with a full effort in serving the LORD.

Author: Allen Domelle