Repeating a grade. Nobody likes it, but sometimes it is necessary. The learning, growth, and development that was supposed to take place during this time period just simply didn't happen. And if the child did advance to the next grade, they would not have the skills required to succeed at this level.
As a parent, this can be a tough decision to make. On one hand, you want your child to be in their "right" grade, not get teased for "sticking", and stay with friends they have went to school with since kinder garden. On the other hand, you want what's best for your child in the long run. And you don't want your child to constantly struggle through the years ahead.
If the decision to repeat a grade is made, many times the child is upset. This is understandable. A lot of times, they will have the same teachers, same classes, and same tests. Their friends and peers go on and leave them to the next level of education.
I was thinking about this idea of "sticking" when it comes to our spiritual lives. A lot of us are frustrated with being on the same level spiritually that we have been on for years.
God desires to have a closer relationship with us and take us to higher levels of faith, knowledge, and revelation of Him and His kingdom. We have bigger "kingdom assignments" to accomplish in our lifetime, but many of us are stuck taking the same tests of years ago.
As a result, we have become a population with a lot of "big fifth graders", in a spiritual sense. A lot of us have been saved, going to church, and have had a relationship with Christ for 10, 20, 30 years, but still spiritually immature.
Some of us even have the nerve to be angry at the people who have advanced to new levels, dimensions, and realms of faith. This anger, jealously, and also guilt are the very stumbling blocks that prevent spiritual growth.
We have to realize that in order to advance in the Kingdom of God, their must be times of testing, trials, and hardships. These are the training grounds for advancement in the Kingdom. Out of ignorance, frustration, and the lack of perseverance that we quit, fail, or drop out of the very things that were sent to help us.
This scripture sums this up the best: All this is evidence that God's judgement is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
2 Thessalonians 1:5
We are kingdom citizens, and the kingdom of God rises under pressure. Let us be mindful of this as we go through the tests, trials, and hardships in life. Nobody likes to be the "big fifth grader"!
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