"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)
The National Honor Society knows nothing about grace. They are entirely works-based in their acceptance of students. If you show yourself to be a leader in academics, co-curricular activities and work, they might let you in. Even then, it's a bit iffy. If your writing isn't neat or you use a pencil rather than a pen on your application, they can exclude you. My daughter, a straight-A student, was turned down for that very offense last year.
Acceptance by the National Honor Society is on my mind this morning after helping my daughter finish filling out her second application last night. It was a time-consuming ordeal. We spent several hours on it, trying to make sure everything was in order. We still have one blank to fill in before printing everything off and handing it over to the powers-that-be. We're all a bit nervous. Will it be enough?
This whole process has renewed a sense of gratitude in my heart toward God. He is not like the National Honor Society faculty council at all. He doesn't look at the way we come to him and say, "Not neat enough." He doesn't turn us away because we haven't done enough good to outweigh the bad. He welcomes us when we come to him with our never-quite-mature faith and offer him our lives. When we believe on Jesus, he says, "Approved! Accepted! Forgiven! Welcome!"
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