The Only Question on Life’s Final Exam

It seems to me that there are a lot of endeavors that people pour their energy into, work on, and get consumed by, that won’t really matter a whole lot from Heaven’s hindsight. It is as if we are cramming for the wrong question on life’s final exam. For example, none of these questions will be on it:

· How hard did you work?
· How much money did you make?
· What was your GPA?
· How many people did you impress?
· How high did you climb up the corporate ladder?
· How many friends did you have on Facebook?

But there is one question. One question that matters supremely. And Jesus poses that question in Matt 16:15.

“What about you?" Jesus asked. "Who do you say I am?” (Matt 16:15)

Now, if you’ve ever been to Sunday School, probably somewhere rattling around your brain is Peter’s concise and profound answer, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt 16:16). And because of that, many people feel like they are well prepared to nail that question, if it is ever posed at heaven’s gate.

But here’s a different twist on it. What if the final exam is an essay question?

Here’s what I mean. Some people treat Jesus’ query as if it were a fill-in-the-blank question. As if an intellectual endorsement of Jesus’ true identity is all that is required. But what if what Jesus really longs for is a growing, daily experience of learning who He is? And discovering all He wants to be to you every day?

Now, gratefully, I am convinced that the person who embraces Jesus, even on his deathbed, with just a glimpse of who Jesus is as Savior and Lord, will be welcomed into Heaven. But how much better to spend a lifetime getting to know Him? How much better to resist pursuing answers to question that don’t matter, and to daily seek to answer life’s most important question, “Who do you say that I am … today?”