By Anthony Tinin
It’s that time of year when we face the anxieties and uncertainties, the excitement and opportunities of going back to school. Trying to get up early again……Trying to get back into the routine…..Trying to get your homework done!
Back to school time certainly has some positives, but for some, school can be a tough place. School is where we are “graded”. School is where we have a status: oftentimes given to us by someone else. School is where the preps, the nerds, the jocks, the rednecks, the emos (do they still have those?) all blend together in harmony. Not exactly!
Kids often need to belong to a group, but sometimes that label is given by someone else, and sometimes that label hurts. Whether you are a valedictorian candidate or a D student places a status on you. Whether you wear the latest expensive fashion or you wear your worn out cowboy boots places a status on you. Whether you prefer theatre class or you score the most touchdowns places a status on you.
I’m so glad that God does not “grade” us the same way. Regardless of what grades we make, God still loves us and cares about us.
In John 3:16, Jesus says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
“Whoever believes in him”—what a powerful statement. Jesus teaches us that God’s plan reaches beyond the status that humans place on each other. God loves the nerd and the redneck; He loves the theatre student and the star football player; He loves us all the same. In fact, He loved us enough to send Jesus, His Son, to die to cover our sins.
So, if you are a student going back to school, or a parent of a student going back to school, or a teacher going back to school: God loves you for who you are! He does not place you or me in a certain status based upon our ACT score or how well we can shoot a basketball. We are ALL considered His children. He just wants to have a relationship with us, and we can have that relationship through Jesus Christ.
