Thank A Teacher

Then Jesus took his disciples up on the mountain and gathered them around Him. And He taught them saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

And Simon Peter said, "Do we have to write this stuff down?"  And Phillip said, "Will this be on the test?"  And John said, "I'm sorry. Would you mind repeating that?"  And Andrew said, "John the Baptist's disciples don't have to learn this stuff!"  And Matthew said, "Huh?"  And Judas said, "What does this have to do with real life?"  Then one of the Pharisees, an expert in the law, said; "I don't see any of this in your syllabus. Do you have a lesson plan? Is there a summary?  Where is the student guide?  Will there be any follow-up assignments? How will this affect the bell curve?"  And Thomas, who had missed the sermon, came to Jesus privately and said, “Did we do anything important yesterday?"  And Jesus wept.

               

Only teachers can truly appreciate the truth in this humorous illustration.  I know this because my wife is completing 28 years as a public school teacher.  Her days to retirement are now down to a number that I can count on my hands and have fingers left over.  Although her retirement is going to completely mess up my daily routine (I have been retired for a couple of years and have become totally adjusted to seeing her off to work before 7 am and then having the day to myself.), I welcome and celebrate her retirement as a reward for a job well done!  She has truly put in her time and I am aware that it is harder each year for teachers to deal with an increasing number of students who are not given proper parental guidance and support, parents who want to blame the teacher rather than themselves for their child’s poor behavior and low grades, increasing administrative red tape and new hoops for teachers to jump through that often has little to do with classroom performance but more to do with governmental bureaucracy, and not to mention always being on the low end of most professional pay scales. 

               

In spite of all this there are many dedicated teachers who are truly servants who daily make personal sacrifices and work tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of their students.  While there are times when they may feel like ‘weeping as Jesus did’ in the opening illustration, they continue to do what is necessary as they do indeed make a difference in the world.  Over these years I can share countless occasions when Cathy and I have been shopping, eating out or just walking down the street when someone will come up and share appreciation for being a student of ‘Mrs. Drees’. 

               

The difference is not always just shown in academic lessons learned but also in life lessons that are ‘caught’ from observing the daily behavior of the teacher.  While religion is not to be taught in public schools, students pick ‘character lessons’ from observing the teacher in her daily life.  Once a former student came back and told my wife that their family did not go to church at all until her influence caused the child to ask the parents to start going to church.  Another faith lesson was learned in a real life situation when the school was on ‘lock-down’ as a gun wielding person was seen near the campus.  In those situations the teachers are drilled to lock the doors and gather the children to a ‘safe area’.  This is an area in the classroom where the teacher and students can hide from view as the police handle the situation to make certain the school is safe.  The children knew this was not a drill and it was a frightening time for all as they were scrunched together waiting for the ‘all clear’ signal.  One student who knew Mrs. Drees was a Christian expressed the feelings of others saying, “I’m scared, shouldn’t we pray?”  Whoever said prayer was no longer in schools has never been in a difficult situation.  Since the student asked, Cathy said yes we can pray and she prayed for the anxious children.  When the event was over another student told my wife, “I never knew we could talk to God like that!  I’m glad I came to school today!”  Perhaps this was not in the curriculum but this child truly learned an important lesson. 

Teachers may never really know the impact they have on the lives they touch and communities in which they serve so it is up to us to let them know how much they mean and have meant to us.  As a person who spent well over 20 years receiving formal education (no I did not fail and have to repeat), I owe a debt I can never repay to the many teachers who taught me academic and life lessons that helped shape me to be the person I am today.  From elementary, middle & high school teachers to college, masters and doctoral professors I will always appreciate the labor of love (they certainly don’t do it to get rich) of teachers.  So if you are able to read this, THANK A TEACHER!

My Prayer

As we wake each morning we never really know what the day has in store for us.  We may have plans or activities we have scheduled but each day is uncertain as we may run into some unexpected events.  Most believers begin the day with some type of devotional or prayer activity seeking God’s guidance, grace and strength for the day ahead.  Several years ago God seemed to point me to three scriptures that formed a guide for a prayer asking for His Spirit and guidance as I would go through the day. 

The first is found in 1 Kings 3:9.  Solomon has become King of Israel and is overwhelmed with the responsibility of the weighty decisions he must make.  Verse 5 tells us that God said to him in a dream, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”  Solomon asked God, “Therefore, give thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil.” This struck me as a powerful and effective prayer request for all of us as we begin each day.  While we may not have the responsibility of the King but each of us will be called on to make judgements about the people we encounter each day.  Is this a person I should befriend or avoid? Is this a person who needs help?  Is this a person I should let others help? Often we encounter people that others are better equipped to help.  Sometimes the best help we can give is to leave others to their own resources or give them just enough help so they can do it themselves.  Is this a person I want to hire or work for?  Is this a person I want to date or marry?  One certainly needs understanding and discernment with these questions.  An understanding heart has a balance of discernment, compassion and wisdom.  So I would begin each day (and repeat this prayer often during the day) asking God for an understanding heart to make wise decisions and judgments with everyone I would encounter during the day.

The second part to the prayer is based on Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”  Our words and thoughts are so important and powerful.  Our thoughts are the foundation and origin of our words.  Before the words come from our mouth the thoughts have been formed, often from beliefs we have held for some time.  It is vital to keep our thoughts founded on a pure heart.  Words can spill out quickly and once they are out of our mouth, we can’t take them back.  In the lengthy but wonderful poem, The First Settler's Story, about the power of words by Will Carleton we are told; “Boys flying kites haul in their white-winged birds: You can't do that way when you're flying words.’ Careful with fire,’ is good advice we know: ‘Careful with words, ‘is ten times doubly so. Thoughts unexpressed may sometimes fall back dead, But God himself can't kill them when they're said!  Any thought that is not pleasing or acceptable to God should be confessed as sin and wiped from the mind immediately before they have time to take root.  Any word that will not be pleasing to God should never be uttered.  Words and thoughts that are acceptable and pleasing to God will be primarily encouraging and uplifting.  They will never be harmful, even if they are a rebuke.  A rebuke, based on a pure heart and words pleasing and acceptable to God will be one that is necessary and expressed as an act of love.  Therefore it is vital to begin each day with a prayer to keep one’s thoughts and words as those which will be acceptable and pleasing to God.    

The third and final portion of the prayer is based on the words of Jesus from Luke 22:42. Just hours before Jesus went to the cross to willingly suffer the agonizing death that would pay our penalty for sin he prayed.  Boy did he pray!  The scripture tells us that he was so tormented that his perspiration was as drops of blood.  Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  He was willingly submitting to do whatever it took to pay the price for our sin.  However, we must remember that while Jesus was God incarnate.  He WAS flesh and blood.  No human in their right mind would wish to suffer the horrors of the cross.  Jesus grew up when Romans were the best in history at executing people in a public and horrible manner.  All his life Jesus had seen people die a slow and horrifying death on the cross.  He knew that was waiting for him in a few hours.  He revealed his human nature as he prayed for any way to avoid such torture.  His prayer shows us that there is nothing wrong with praying for God to keep us from harm and evil that abounds in this sin-scarred world.  We all would like to avoid suffering and pain.  However, there are some difficulties that cannot be avoided but are best endured if we realize that this difficulty is the only path to greater blessing.  Jesus asked the Father if there was another way to provide a path for salvation.  However, the only price that was worthy of the atonement for our sin was the cross.  Jesus began by asking for an alternative route but completed the sentence putting Himself aside and asking that God’s will be done;  “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”  Our spirit, personal wishes and desire must be put aside as we trust the will of our Heavenly Father knowing His wisdom and plan is better.  He sees a tomorrow that we cannot know until we put ourselves aside seeking and following His will…even when it is difficult to understand.  So who knows what the day has before us but I have found this prayer to be helpful. 

I pray for the understanding and wisdom of Solomon:

I Kings 3:9,

“Therefore, give thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil.”

I pray for words and thoughts of David:

Psalm 19:14,

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”

I pray for the submissive spirit of Jesus:

Luke 22:42

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”