Graduation time

I recently had the privilege of attending my nephew Michael's graduation ceremony at the City Hall in Hull. It is many years since I was last in the Hull City Hall. I have a feeling that the last time I was there was probably when I attended a Cliff Richard concert for Tear Fund in the late 70's!! Michael, along with 100s of others, was graduating from Hull University. Because his parents are in New Zealand, my sister Mary and I had the privilege of being surrogate parents for the occasion. It was certainly an impressive setting, and the ceremony itself was well organised and presented.

A graduation ceremony is a momentous occasion for a student. It is the culmination of several years of work. The graduation certificate which each student receives is proof that they have accomplished their goal and achieved the level of competence required of them by the University. For examinations, there is generally a pass mark which is set. If a student achieves the mark, they have passed; if not, they have failed.

It seems to me that many people have that kind of picture in their minds when they think of their relationship with God. There is appears to be a general feeling that life is a bit like an exam: if a person achieves a sufficient standard of behaviour, then God will accept them and allow them into heaven. Or, to put it another way, if our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds we should be ok. There is, however, a big problem with this assumption, namely that the Bible tells us that none of us will achieve the grade, the pass mark. Why? Because the pass mark is 100%, and none of us, despite our best efforts, live perfect lives. If the truth be known, we fall far short of that standard. As St Paul writes, "Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God's glorious standard." (Romans 3.23)

So is there no hope for us? Do we have no chance of being truly accepted and loved by God, or being allowed to share the blessings of heaven? The good news is that although we can't earn or deserve God's love or forgiveness, in Jesus Christ it is freely offered to us. Paul goes on to explain, "The free gift of God's grace makes us right with him. Christ Jesus paid the price to set us free." (Romans 3.24). Sin separates us from God, it makes us fall short of God's standard (a bit like wrong answers on an exam paper). But by dying on a cross for us, Jesus has paid the price for our sin (like crossing out the wrong answers and writing the correct ones in instead!)

Perhaps the exam analogy has its limitations, like most analogies. But the wonderful truth is that we don't have to try and earn God's love, we simply have to put our trust in what Jesus has done for us. Through Christ we can enter into a brand new life, set free from the burden of sin and guilt. Amazing!