One Sunday morning after Bible class years ago when my youngest brother was only about five, my Mom asked him what he had learned about in Sunday school. John showed Mom the take home sheet he had with him. The picture was of a baby in a basket in the river. He told her it was baby Moses. Then she asked him who had put Moses in the basket. I am sure she hoped John would tell her it was Moses' big sister who put him there. To my brother, however, his answer was much more practical for he quickly and confidently replied, "Mrs. Cassie did." Naturally, Mrs. Cassie was his Sunday school teacher.
As amusing as this little story is, it makes a great point. We must be very careful about what we teach our little ones. Young children think very practically - very literally. They easily believe whatever they are taught. John was correct when he answered Mom. Mrs. Cassie had put that particular baby Moses in that particular basket. His mind had just not quite grasped the idea that in the real story there was an older sister named Miriam. He remembered what he saw. He saw his Sunday school teacher put the baby in the basket.
One of the reasons I love to teach young children is because their minds are like little sponges. They are eager to learn and they do so quickly. It is important for a teacher to know the students well enough to teach on their level. It is very easy to mislead a child. We must be ever diligent and make sure that we are teaching God's truth. We will be held responsible for what we teach. This is true whether we teach younger children, adolescents or adults. It is a wonderful privilege to teach God's word but it is also a huge responsibility.
Sometimes it seems even more so for those who teach children.
As Bible class teachers to pre-schoolers, we (along with their parents) help to shape a child's whole mind set about the truth of God's word. We have a wonderful opportunity to help them fall in love with the Lord. We can show them what a grand adventure studying the Bible is. By helping to frame the child's attitude about Bible study, we are giving them something they can build on for the rest of their lives. And there are many joys along the way.
I once helped teach in a Vacation Bible school class of 3 and 4 year olds. The lesson was on David and Goliath. The teacher had gotten a big box (a refrigerator box, maybe) and drawn a pretty tall cardboard Goliath. She also brought toy sling shots. Each child got to pretend they were hitting Goliath with a rock. Of course, the children were having great fun with the cardboard Goliath and their sling shots. When they were all back at their seats and doing some handwork, I asked one little boy about who killed Goliath. He could tell me that David did. I asked him where David had hit the giant with a rock. I was trying to get him to remember that the rock had hit the giant's forehead, but instead he pointed to the corner of the room where the cardboard man stood and said, "Over there." So you see, teaching can be fun; but it is still very important to do the very best we can with the handling of God's word.
What about your role as a teacher? Yes, we are all teachers in one way or another, even if we don't conduct a Bible class. We teach by example. As a Christian this too, is a great responsibility. Do we act the same way at home as we do at church services? If not, what are we teaching our children and grandchildren? Do we act the same way in the outside world as we do during those few hours a week we spend at the church building? If we are a teacher on Sunday morning or Wednesday night, what kind of person do our students see if they run into us, say at the grocery store or movie theatre for instance? Our example and influence is a powerful thing. We will be held accountable for all our works. We must be diligent to show others that we put Christ first day in and day out, every single day. Have you ever heard the saying "don't do as I do, do as I say." We should strive to live up to what we are trying to teach. If we don't, that what we try to teach will just fall on deaf ears.
We have the responsibility to teach about Jesus at every opportunity. I must admit, that I don't always do that. I need improvement in this area of my life. However, the more I grow as a Christian, the easier I find it is to talk about God more openly. Peter tells us in I Peter 3:15 - "But sanctify the Lord God in hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."
We are to be ready to teach at any time. And Paul told Timothy, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." (II Tim. 2:2)
We know that we have the responsibility to teach. This is not something new. We all having a teaching role in one way or another. In Titus 2:2-3, the aged women are to be teachers of "good things," and they are also to teach the younger women to love their husbands and children. Paul tells Timothy that a bishop must be "apt to teach." (I Tim. 3:2)
Besides all this, if we are striving to be Christ like, then we should understand that Christ never missed an opportunity to tell the world about His Heavenly Father. Acts 1:1 says that Luke's former treatise was made of "all that Jesus began both to do and teach."
We have a wonderful, merciful God who love us all. He is not willing that any should be lost. Why would we not want to share the wonderful news of the gospel with as many people as we can?
Christ above all things,
Robin
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