Spiritual Report Card

Are we making the grade when it comes to our character?

When was the last time you received a report card?

From the time we enter first grade until the day we graduate from college, we are graded on how well we do in school and how well we know the material.

Does that really end when we graduate? That may be the last time we receive a report card or study for a test, but is it really the last time we are graded?

Graded by God?

We are graded on many things throughout our lives. God, in a sense, grades us every day on how we act, what we say and do, and what we think. Just like good things come from getting good grades, good things come from living God’s way of life.

God blesses us when we live His way, just like we are blessed in school when we get good grades. Whether it be a reward from your parents or getting accepted to the college of your choice, good grades affect the outcome of the rest of your life. If we strive every day to ace living God’s way, we will be blessed for it.

Our spiritual textbook

The Bible is our spiritual textbook. We can study it just as easily as any other book. Even though we don’t get a written test on it, the Bible can help us with other tests in life.

Whenever we are going through something difficult in life, it is easier to know what to do when we have studied the Bible, just like it is easier to answer the questions on a test when you have studied for it. We can look to God for the answers we need in life.

Preparing to teach others

Just like our teachers in school teach us, we will be teaching others in the Kingdom of God. We need to be ready for that time. We need to prepare ourselves in every way we can to be the best teachers possible.

We can grade ourselves every day on how well we portray godly character. We can look back on and evaluate everything we did, thought or said.

What grade did you have this week?

What does your spiritual report card look like?

Karissa Carter, 16, attends the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, in Los Angeles and Bakersfield, California.

For more about learning God’s way and developing godly character, see:

• Levels of Learning: Growing in God’s Truth
• Becoming Gold: Refining Our Spiritual Character