Even mentioning the word “test” can cause anxiety in specific individuals. Several studies have shown that around 40% of people in the U.S. experience some form of test anxiety. To combat this, students and teachers alike have emphasized developing study guides to help prepare for testing. Some study guides are even identical to the tests themselves. These guides can be handy, but there comes a time when every student must put the guide down and take the test. While academic testing becomes increasingly irrelevant as people age, tests of life are ongoing. However, the greatest test anyone will ever take is the test they will receive after their life is over.
Romans 14:10b says, “Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” This idea continues in verse 12, “Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.” At the end of this life, God will ask every person two questions.
The first question being, “What did you do with my Son, Jesus Christ?”1
To be able to answer this question, one must first know what can be done with Jesus Christ. God’s original creation was corrupted by sin. God hates sins because it causes his creation to be removed from him. Because of his hate for sin, God required death as a payment for sin. However, God loves his creation. This creates quite a problem, God loves people, but people sin. While this does create a problem, God has prepared an answer for this conundrum. God placed all his hate for sin on his son, Jesus. When Jesus was killed, his sacrifice provided a path for everyone’s sins to be forgiven. Everyone who believes in Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross for them will receive eternal life (John 3:16).
This is what Jesus Christ has done for humanity, and there are only two things one can do with the revelation of Jesus Christ. They can accept him and make him their Lord and Savior, or they can deny him and continue being the lord of their own life. That is why God asks this first question. He wants to see who has accepted the blood of his son and who has trampled it under their feet.
God’s second question is, “What did you do with what I gave you?”2
God, as the giver of all things, blesses everyone with some measure of time, talent, and treasure. Some have more, some have less, but everything comes from God’s hands. While God is the one who gives, he is not concerned with quantity nearly as much as he is concerned with quality. God’s interest lies not in how much a person possesses but in what they do with what they have been given. God’s second question is about investment and contribution to his kingdom. Did you freely give to others? Or did you keep all your blessings for yourself?
Cumulative tests often provoke the most anxiety because of how much material they cover. However, unlike most academic tests, God’s questions are multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank. God’s questions are designed as a comprehensive evaluation of your life. Fortunately, God has given his creation the Bible as a study guide for this final test. In that study guide, one finds out that it is not about knowing the right answer; it’s about living it.
To ace God’s questions, one must devote themselves to Jesus and be a faithful steward of everything God entrusted them with.
1Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 37.
2Ibid.