Don’t we all hate taking tests? I just had to go through my annual pilot ground and flight simulator training. I got put through the wringer in all kinds of bad situations and had to correctly deal with them. Tests can be stressful, especially when your job is on the line. We need to remember that we are always taking the most important test of all and everything is on the line.
The secret to passing the test of life is usually by doing the opposite of what the world says to do. The world tells us to think of ourselves first and then others. Jesus tells us that unless we die to ourselves, we will never grow. While it is not bad to have wants, we need to try not to obsess about the pleasures the world offers us. The world tells us that it is more important to do what we want to do rather than to do what is right. The whole abortion debate revolves around doing what is best for me as opposed to what is best for the child. The whole gender identity debate revolves around doing what I want to do and not caring about how it affects the people around me. Life isn’t always fair. We need to die to ourselves, especially if it means doing so will accomplish a greater good.
Jesus said, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life”. We are called to serve and not to be served. This world is full joy and happiness, but also suffering and sadness. We need to bear our crosses and embrace our suffering. When I was little, I would have liked nothing more than to just eat dessert, but my parents made me eat my vegetables because they knew it was good for me. Suffering can be good for our souls as well. How can a good God allow suffering? How many people have had their faith strengthened after a tragedy? Sometimes it takes a crisis to get our priorities in order.
Life is easy if we go with the flow of the current. The problem is that the river of life ends in a cliff. If we want our story to have a happy ending, then we need to swim towards the shore. Swimming against or perpendicular to a current takes some effort, but the reward of eternal life is worth it.
