"Lord, make me a Teacher, that I may lead your people"
The second word in my morning prayer is Teacher. When I read about Jesus' ministry, I see him leading primarily by teaching and example. Even at the sacrifice of his solitude he would hardly ever pass up a moment to illustrate a truth to the lost sheep of God's people.
Why was it so important to him?
I think what drove him to take every opportunity was the knowledge that he only had so long to show people the example of how we should treat one another. It would be no good to just continue doing servant actions over and over. People had to understand why those actions we necessary and what they could lead to.
And that's what teaching can do.
Teaching can leave a legacy.
Lord make me a teacher.
I will have kids one day, meaning one day I'll be the ultimate teacher. Most people have the fear that they will do an absolutely crappy job and I'm no different. It's been on my mind since the day I realized the connection between teaching and legacy. And so I practice. When a college peer of mine asked me to be his mentor for a semester, I took the opportunity to start teaching what little I had learned. When a friend of mine asked if I could walk him through one of the gospels, I jumped on the chance to communicate my college classes to someone else. God continuously answers my spoken and unspoken prayers to be a teacher by presenting countless teaching moments to me at the store I manage, and I use each one as practice for the days of ultimate teaching.
Parenthood.
As I lead and guide my kids through life I am determined to make teaching an integral part of my parenting. I realize I have no choice in the matter really, but I mean I want it to be at the forefront of my mind. I want to lead by teaching, as I think Jesus did.
But more importantly, I want to leave a godly legacy with my children, as most assuredly Christ did with us.
No comments:
Post a Comment