This Isn’t a Test, Praise the Lord

By Jim Nieman

If you have ever taken a standardized test in preparation for college, you know they’re not much fun.

Years ago, the analogy portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (or SAT) asked questions like, “Buzz is to Hum as . . .” and you were provided a list of possible answers, the correct one being, “Tinkle is to Clang.”

Let’s try another one: “Parquet is to Wood as Linoleum is to Marble.” (No, that’s not right.) “Parquet is to Wood as Color is to Painting.” (No, wrong again.)

Here’s the right answer: “Parquet is to Wood as Mosaic is to Glass.”

Aren’t you glad we don’t have to take a test of this sort to follow God, and that great scholarship isn’t necessary to love one another?

And isn’t 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, “Take and eat; this is my body” (Matthew 26:26). And he took the cup and said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (26:28).

“Bread is to Christ’s Body as the Juice is to Christ’s Blood.”

This isn’t a test, but it’s a time to concentrate and focus on Jesus as if it were a test.

Now (and always), let’s 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.