HEN I met him he was a graduating senior at the college where I was a faculty member. He was a professor's dream—brilliant, articulate, handsome, and dashingly charming. He was very busy, too—as an active member of the student government association and many student groups, including the honor society. His résumé should have been a prospective employer's dream. He had an air about him that made people like him.

It was my privilege to teach this gifted young man. I wanted him to succeed in my statistics class so badly that I relaxed one of my requirements (no submission of assignments after the deadline) for everyone so that busy Darrell could have a chance to submit his later than the stipulated time. When I saw his A begin to slip away because of late or missed assignments, I scheduled several conferences with him. On two occasions I sat down with him, reminding him of his obligation toward his education, his parents, and particularly my class. Both times he assured me he'd be more responsible, but he never came through.

Day of Reckoning
The end of the semester came, and I had to assign the grades. After agonizing over Darrell, I finally gave him a B, and that bothered me. In fact, it's the only grade in my many years of teaching that ever bothered me. Why? Because any work that Darrell submitted was excellent. Whenever he submitted his assignments on time, his was the measure against which I gauged other students' work. He aced the two tests and two exams I gave, and was among the few students who answered bonus questions correctly. If he'd submitted more than half the assignments for the class, he could easily have received an A.

The bottom line, however, was that Darrell received a B because he earned it. That's the general rule in academia—you receive the grade you deserve, the grade you earned.

The Difference
The Bible paints a different picture in regard to salvation. God does not treat me the way I deserve. How many promises to Him have I broken? Yet He still calls me His child—His precious child. How many times have I let Him down and fallen down on my face asking for forgiveness? And He has yet to reject me. If the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23), don't I deserve to die? Yes, I do. Yet God has given me eternal life through His Son, who died for me on Calvary (John 3:16; Rom. 6:23).

That's the difference! I know He wants me always to be responsible and accountable, because He has done everything possible for me to be saved. But I know that if I had to work for my salvation, I could never afford it. After all, it took nothing less than the life of the Creator. If God would assign me the grade I deserve, I know it would be lower than an F. And yet God does not treat me as a failure. Instead He calls me His own. What a God!

My burden fell off when I first came to realize that God does not require me to earn my own salvation, because He took my place on that cruel tree. Salvation is free! Now all He wants is for me to accept the free salvation He has offered. There are no assignments and tests to hand in. No deadlines to beat—because today (any time) is the acceptable time (Heb. 4:7). He wants me to just accept the free gift of love He offers through His Son. What a God we serve!

It's Up to Me
Darrell's experience reminds me that I am responsible for the choices I make in this life. That the; hoices I make now impact my life today, tomorrow, and in the future. Jesus died so that I can live with Him forever, but it's up to me to accept His sacrifice. Jesus offers salvation full and free, but He does not force me to accept it. I must do that by my own free will.

God has been patient with me. He wants me to do what's right. And just as I'd; ounseled with Darrell on several occasions, God counsels with me daily, nanosecond by nanosecond. Constantly He provides guidance; through the Bible, nature, friends, the church. He does all He can to make it easy for me to live with Him.

Will God ever execute His strange judgment—reject people? Yes, that will; onstitute what Isaiah calls His strange act (Isa. 28:21). Concerning Israel, His vineyard, God says, "I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste" (Isa. 5:5, 6, NKJV). Yes, the time will come when evil will not exist anymore.

But as long as probationary time shall last, God will still pardon, will still justify, will still sanctify. And His love will always be there. When He looks at me He sees not my flaws and scars but the merits of His Son. And when He assigns my grade, it's a perfect A. What an awesome God!

My most important decision in life is to choose eternal salvation. I know I've disappointed God a million times over. But my salvation is not based on what I do, but on what Jesus has done—and; ontinues to do—for me and in me. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9, NKJV).

I do not deserve it either, but Jesus gives it free. All I need to do is accept it. And that makes all the difference.

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D. Chongo Mundende is director of the Policy Research and Analysis Center at Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, and Pathfinder director at the Seventh-day Adventist church in Edmond, Oklahoma.