By Jim Nieman
If you have ever taken a standardized test in preparation for college, you know theyโre not much fun.
Years ago, the analogy portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (or SAT) asked questions like, โBuzz is to Hum as . . .โ and you were provided a list of possible answers, the correct one being, โTinkle is to Clang.โ
Letโs try another one: โParquet is to Wood as Linoleum is to Marble.โ (No, thatโs not right.) โParquet is to Wood as Color is to Painting.โ (No, wrong again.)
Hereโs the right answer: โParquet is to Wood as Mosaic is to Glass.โ
Arenโt you glad we donโt have to take a test of this sort to follow God, and that great scholarship isnโt necessary to love one another?
And isnโt it good that Jesus supplies the analogy we need when we think back to the last supper he had with his disciples on the night he was betrayed?
Jesus provided the method of remembrance when he took the bread and said, โTake and eat; this is my bodyโ (Matthew 26:26). And he took the cup and said, โThis is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sinsโ (26:28).
โBread is to Christโs Body as the Juice is to Christโs Blood.โ
This isnโt a test, but itโs a time to concentrate and focus on Jesus as if it were a test.
Now (and always), letโs focus on God and the gift of his Son, and Jesus and his sacrifice that we might inherit eternal life.
Jim Nieman serves as managing editor of Christian Standard.


