Weekends in the Word

"Pop Quiz!  Get out your Number 2 pencil!"  

Those were not my favorite words when I was in school.  Probably the same goes for you, too.  And yet we get 'pop quizzes' in life all the time.  Why did I ever think that once my formal school years were behind me, life would be a lot easier and the answers would not be a struggle?  

Not only do I still have spelling words to trouble me now (words and definitions that did not exist 40-some years ago), but there are math exams in the grocery store aisle when my iPod is buried at the bottom of my purse.  Then there are the quizzes to remember important birth dates, and social studies questions about how to best relate to people to get a project done AND be nice about it in the process.  Even while blogging there are questions about punctuation and word usage.

Did you know that the Bible speaks about these unexpected little tests that pop up in our lives?  I Peter 3:15 in The Message phrases it especially well:

Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy.  

Wow. I have failed that one of late.  

We are to be alert and of a sober mind.  Our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (see I Peter 5:8)

There is absolutely no getting around it -- we will have tests in life until the moment we step into Glory.  When we fail the exams, we are to admit it to God, and then do better the next time, having learned from the experience.  

Lord, help us all!  (and He will!)