Thought for Today
Exodus 18:19 You should represent the people before God, and you should bring their cases before God; 20 teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they are to go and the things they are to do.
Psalm 25:4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.
Luke 4:14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Yesterday, I wrote about knowledge, discovery and invention. I said, “The Electronic Age did not invent any new forces, we have merely learned how to manipulate those forces for our convenience.” That is true, however, we have truly learned a great deal about manipulating the basic forces of nature. We have to some extent tamed wind and fire; we certainly know a great deal about the use of electricity and magnetism to enhance our quality of life.
As humanity developed all that knowledge, our ancestors were faced with a new challenge, how to ensure that knowledge was passed down from one generation to the next. Knowing how to start and control a fire was a huge advancement in human development. Without some way to pass that on, the development would have been lost in a single generation.
One of the clues to the importance of something in scripture is how often it is repeated. The word ‘teach’ appears more than 100 times in the Bible. ‘Teaching’ appears almost as many times, ‘teacher’ from 50 to 80 times depending on the translation. That general topic of passing on knowledge thus appears more than 200 times in the Bible. Just to confirm the importance, one of the titles used in the Bible for Jesus, the Christ, is Rabbi, the Hebrew word for teacher.
Stop reading right here, sit back for a minute and think about all the men and women in your own life who have taught you. Teachers in school, coaches, scout leaders, music teachers and even your parents. Adults who, through formal lessons and through the very way they have lived their lives have passed on to you the wisdom of the ages and the secrets to life.
“National Teachers’ Day is a special day dedicated to honoring and appreciating teachers for their contributions to education and society. In the United States, it is celebrated on the first Tuesday of the first full week in May. This day is part of Teacher Appreciation Week.” (https://nationaltoday.com/national-teachers-day)
If we are fortunate, many of us have more than one teacher or professor to whom we can accredit much of who and what we are today. I can remember several high school, college and seminary teachers who have greatly influenced my own life. Men and women who have passed on knowledge and the love of knowledge, who have dedicated their own lives to passing on to succeeding generations that knowledge and love. Children of God who have knowingly or unwittingly fulfilled the Biblical commands to teach.
Not all who teach us are formally acknowledged as teachers. All adults, whether or not they are parents, teach children through the way they live their lives. Deliberately or unknowingly, all adults are role models of adult behavior, good and bad. At times, I find that realization encouraging, at other times I find it daunting.
Whether civilization advances or retreats depends on how adults model ‘adult’ behavior. Such modeling is the only way children can learn. Think about that as you go about your daily life. Think about that whenever you are at a sporting event. Think about that during this election year. All of us need to be reminded that “the children are watching!” We cannot solely rely on the teachers at school to be the only ones teaching children. Whether we are parents or not, “the children are watching!”
Think about Jesus’ Great Commission in Matthew, “teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” If Jesus is with us to the end of the age, Jesus is watching you and me.
Stay safe, remember that Jesus is watching, trust God,
Pastor Ray