By now, I'm sure you have seen the funny little meme "My GPA won't matter in Heaven." I’m also sure that it gave you a pretty good laugh (a laugh that probably subsided into muffled sobs as you continued to drown in finals week preparations). The first time I saw it, I laughed too. But it's true.
Our GPAs won't matter in Heaven. In fact, nothing of this world will matter in Heaven.
I find it so easy to become overwhelmed with the stress and anxiety the end of every semester brings. Deadlines, papers, lack of sleep, scrambling through months’ worth of notes and highlighting just about every line, the sudden need for caffeine and an afternoon cry - all of these things signify none other than nearly every college student as they prepare to finish out the spring term (whether you finish strong or not. Just cross the finish line, guys).
I am guilty of allowing these things to consume me. My anxiety has been amping up for weeks in preparation for an overdue meltdown right around the time I'll be entering my first final on Monday. Yes, I am guilty of worrying too much about the perfect grade and wanting my professors to know how hard I've tried. I worry that a B is not good enough and that the first C I'll be receiving is a disgrace. However, I never stop to think, "How is this A, B, C, or whatever grade I receive going to affect me in Heaven?".
The answer is simple - it won't.
By no means am I saying to not hit those books and study, but rather remember that your grades do not define you. It can be so hard to not let our grades consume and control us to the degree we sometimes let them. Honestly, I don't think God is going to greet us at Heaven's gates with our college transcript and say, "Well, it says here that you received a C in that Finance class instead of an A, and that you failed Anatomy, so I can't let you in".
"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God... Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature." - Colossians 3:2-3,
Our grades and our desire to compare are earthly rather than eternal. Despite how hard it can be, understand that God's wants for us are more important than our own.
Your GPA might matter right now, but we are living for so much more than just this moment. In the meantime, hit the books, and do the best you can.
God has already fought and won this battle for us.
