Thought for the Week

Many young people have received their exam results. Those who have achieved the grades they needed are happy and ready to take up their degree courses. Those who did not achieve the required grades are sad and are beginning to consider their options. It is important for those who have not secured a university place to remember that they have passed their exams and have achieved A level qualifications which open the way for a variety of excellent careers.

The future for those who are going to university will certainly have its challenges. The National Union of Students has estimated that students beginning their degree courses this September will leave university with an average debt of £53000. Those studying vocational courses will probably find a job soon after they graduate, but there are many graduates who are unemployed and finding it difficult to get any kind of job.

Our society values people according to their achievements. It is assumed that those who achieve high grades in school or university, or achieve sporting success, are more valuable than those of us who do not. In the Olympic Games it was sometimes implied that winning a silver or bronze medal was a failure! They were not the best but “the best of the rest!”

Ultimately the most important thing about us is not what we do, but what we are. Most of us are ordinary people who will never achieve great success in education or sport. Our true value lies in the fact that God created us and we are precious to him. We can find true happiness and fulfilment through knowing him and living our lives in fellowship with him.

What is your aim in life? Young people who want to go to university work hard in order to achieve the grades they need. Athletes who want to win an Olympic medal train hard in order to succeed. As he reflected on the purpose of his life in this world, the apostle Paul said his goal was to please God. He knew that at the end of his life he, and everyone who has ever lived, must stand before God. Ultimately that is the only test that matters. Paul knew his need and rejoiced that God sent his Son, Jesus, into this world to give us hope. As we put our trust in Jesus as our Saviour he gives us real confidence for time and eternity.