The teachers had the children line up in the gym. Parents and grandparents were there taking pictures, so proud of their offspring. It was an exciting day. The end of the school year was near, and no one felt like doing any school work.
While they were all loud and chaos seemed to reign, there were four distinctive categories of children. You could see the difference in their faces and see how differently they reacted to every announcement.
Some of the children walked in proudly, head held high, sure of receiving at least one award. They had worked hard, diligently studying every subject.
Then there were those who had the hope of expectation shining on their faces. They had not done too badly during the year, but knew they could have done better. They thought they had a chance of winning some kind of an award, but did not know which one or how many.
Some nervously talked behind their hands, hoping beyond hope their last ditch efforts to do better in their schoolwork would be enough to garner them at least an honorable mention. These were the ones who had slacked some as the school year went on and on, but had been giving it their all for the past couple of weeks since they knew Awards Day was near.
Then there were those who were completely indifferent, making jokes in line, and causing as much disruption as possible. They knew they were not getting an award and didn't really care if anyone else did or not.
The audience could sense the excitement as names were announced. There were a few tears when a student didn't receive anything. They vowed to themselves to try harder next year. Even those who claimed to be indifferent looked with envy at the children who had worked hard over the year to reach award status. They knew they should have done better; but it was too late now.
We are all rapidly approaching Awards Day of a different kind. The signs are clear that the end is coming. When we stand before God, He will be handing out awards from our life. When you stand before Him, what category will you find yourself? Will you be one that knows you've kept the faith and done all you could during your lifetime? Or will you be one who has lived selfishly and only thought of God at the end of your time, hoping you accomplished just enough. And then there are those who haven't tried at all, knowing they could have; knowing they had the same chance as everyone else, but they did not heed the call.
On that great Awards Day, where will you stand?