Life’s Take-Home Final
Matthew 25:31-46
Illustration
by Leonard Sweet

There are two types of students. There are those students who jump for joy when they hear the words "take home final." And there are those students who are not thrilled with joy but filled with dread when they hear the words "take home final."

At first blush it seems a no-brainer. Who wouldn't prefer a take home exam? There is no time crunch. There is unlimited access to resources for checking facts and figures. There is the ability to modify, or even completely change, responses after thinking about them for a while.

But the students who dread the take home final know there is a down side to all those benefits. With all that extra time and unlimited information and fluid flexibility, there come greater expectations. With a take home final there is never a firm answer to how much more the instructor expects. Instead of a quick couple paragraphs, obviously a longer, more extensive, more exhaustive presentation is rightly required.

Jesus left us with a rather lengthy exhaustive take home test. At the top of the home assignment is written these words: The Parable of the Sheep and Goats. 

ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., ChristianGlobe Illustrations, by Leonard Sweet