Have children’s exam grades become our god?

I will always remember one particular moment as one of my children approached GCSEs. My child was in tears, screaming at me: ‘I am going to fail all of them.’ This was not the first time this had happened.

Previously, I had said things like ‘You won’t’ and ‘You can only do your best.’ No previous answer had improved the situation. The panic and the fear continued. This time, I decided that I had a better, Christian answer to give. ‘And that would be alright.’

I had their attention. This was new. The tears stopped in wonder. How could failing every subject be alright?