Author Parker Palmer summed it up: “Leader is the lesson.” This is especially true in teaching spiritual things. Your life may be the most important element in the amazing mix in teaching-learning. If your life is consistent with what you teach then you authenticate what you say to your learners. If your life is inconsistent with what you teach then you invalidate the spiritual message of your lessons.
None of us perfectly embodies the spiritual message God gives us to teach. However, He can sort that message through the filter of our lives so that the message lives before our learners. When you teach, every part of you, your past and present, your insights, your relationships, your cognitive processes, your spirituality, to name only a few elements, are influencing every thought and word you produce. God is working to transform you as much as He is working to transform your learners. He desires that you seek Him in such a way that His message He has given you to teach actually comes to be your message as well. For that to occur, He is working to transform you so that His will becomes your will. Teaching in your church’s Bible teaching ministry therefore becomes a 24/7 experience for you. Such a perspective turns lesson preparation and study into an exciting adventure that you will not want to put off until Saturday night.
God is passionate about His Word and so should we be. How are you growing in your passion for God’s Word? Are you dedicating yourself to Him as He is transforming you?
Scripture Thought:
“Search for the Lord and for his strength; seek his face always.” 1 Chronicles 16:11
Prayer:
As you pray about your life in light of teaching God’s Word, pray that through your life, God will advance His kingdom work.
Dig Deeper:
Consider reading More Than Ordinary: Enjoying Life with God by Doug Sherman (NavPress, 2011, ISBN-13: 978-1-61521-616-1)
