I had intentions of writing a post about this subject a few weeks ago, but didn't get around to it. It has been rolling around in my head and I was reminded of it all too profoundly this weekend.
At school each morning we have our daily announcements which include the pledges (American and Oklahoma flags), moment of silence, birthdays, lunch menu, etc. One particular day, during the moment of silence a thought flitted through my mind and I found myself thinking/praying "Lord, help me to see them as You do."
That is such a nice sentiment. After all, that is what we are supposed to do isn't it? Love people as Christ loves us?
I have a confession to make, though. In that brief moment I found myself responding to that plea with, "No! I don't want to do that."
Gasp! Oh my! Why in the world would I think that?? How horrible!
Honestly, those thoughts really caught me off-guard and it caused me to question myself. Why would I NOT want to see my students through Jesus' eyes? What would make me think that?
Why?
Because it hurts.
That's right. It's so much easier to just look at someone on the surface than to take time to truly see who they are. If I look too deeply I might see pain or sorrow or heartache. It makes it a lot simpler for those of us who don't like to feel that ache in our heart and lump in our throat if we filter what we see to only what is pleasant and easy to handle.
However, "simple" and "easy" are not words that are regularly, if ever, associated with the Christian life. Seeing people through Christ's eyes is not always pain free or without difficulty. Like I said before, though, it IS what we are called to do.
In John 13 we see the picture of Jesus washing his disciples' feet and warning them of his coming crucifixion. He also told them that he was going to be betrayed by one of them. After all of that, he then says in verses 34-35:
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Simple? Easy? I think not! There are no qualifying statements there. It's a basic command . . . Love them! And on top of that, Jesus knew that he was going to be betrayed and he loved them still.
I say this because, ultimately, I do my best to walk into that classroom each day and love them, each precious (or not-so-precious) one of them. I also know that some of them are not going to reciprocate or even act like they care how I treat them. But I will do my best, because that is what I am commanded to do.
And maybe, just maybe, someday they will realize that I was just doing my best to see them through His eyes.
I realize that my posts are few and far between and that it may seem that I've put away my virtual pen, but I decided when I started my blog to only write when I had something that I thought would be worth reading. The last several months have held many changes for me and I've been tempted to share my thoughts many times, but nothing ever felt right . . . until this evening.
I'm starting a new teaching job in August and have spent some time over the last week getting things looking nice in my classroom. I still have a LONG way to go, but I am slowly making progress. I was really excited when my principal gave us permission to paint our rooms and thought that would be a great way for me to spruce up my space and make it my own. It took several trips to Home Depot and lots of sample paint colors to finally decide on the one I wanted - gray - how creative (but it looks awesome!).
Anyway, as I started painting I noticed that the walls of my classroom looked horrible. They had pencil marks, scrapes, scratches, dints, dings, and pretty much just looked like they hadn't had any attention in years. This gave me even more motivation to paint because I just wanted to cover up all the mess that was on those walls! I didn't even clean them (I did dust a few spots up high and around the baseboards - my mother would be proud!). I just grabbed my brush and roller and went to town covering up what looked like years of wear and tear that had been ignored.
Wow! That coat of paint worked wonders and the transformation in that classroom was amazing. I can't wait to get in there and truly make it my own. It's going to be awesome!
While I was there this evening finishing up a few things, a gentleman came in my room to let me know that they were going to be stripping and resurfacing the floors in the hallway. This basically meant that I would have to leave because I wouldn't be able to walk in the hall once they got started. This got me confused because there have been multiple times over the last few weeks that we haven't been able to go work at school because they were doing the floors. I mean, seriously, how long does it take?!?!
Come to find out, as a text from my principal informed the staff, the floors were not done correctly the first time, so they were going to have to strip them again and repeat the process. My goodness, that's a lot of work. I hope it gets taken care of and that the floors are in tip-top shape very soon.
I'm sure you're wondering why I felt like the painting of my classroom and resurfacing of the floors were a worthwhile subject for my blog. Good question . . . so here are my thoughts.
As I was driving home tonight and kind of replaying these events, God brought to mind a very practical application of these two very mundane things.
I was considering what I had done with a simple coat of paint and I realized that I had accomplished nothing except to cover up the old blemishes and scars that were already there and give the room a fresh outward appearance. I didn't take any time or energy to wipe away the grime that was there. I simply masked it to make it appear clean.
Contrast that with what the gentlemen were doing to those floors. Slowly and carefully they were removing each layer of the old and messed up surface so they can deep clean it and seal it with a new layer. When that process is complete that floor will look brand new and it will be evident that the process, though time-consuming and hard, accomplished an end result that will last for a long time.
The practical application is that we have something in common with those walls and that floor. We have layers of old dirt and grime and as we go through life we are left with lots of wear and tear, but we have a choice to make. We can choose to cover up what is there - sin, guilt, shame, anger, jealousy, bitterness, etc. - and give the appearance of being clean and new, or we can take the time and care to let God remove those layers slowly and methodically until our real self is exposed and our clean and pure heart is all that is left to work with. I like what The Message translation has to say in Psalm 51:7-15.
"Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don't look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don't throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation,
and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I'll let loose with your praise"
I don't like the process of working through those layers, but knowing the end result can make it worth the pain and heartache we sometimes must go through to get there. So, the next time I walk down the shiny waxed hallway and into my freshly painted classroom, I hope it will serve as a reminder of who I truly want to be and stir my heart to desire holiness.
I do not claim to be any kind of Old Testament scholar (I apologize to my OT professor - freshman year at OBU was a long time ago!), but recently I've been reading about Moses and I've found his life and story to be intriguing. As long as I can remember, I've known the story of Moses as a baby floating down the river, how Pharaoh's daughter rescued him, how he grew up and eventually was used of God to help deliver the Israelites.
I learned all about how Moses couldn't understand why God would choose him and that maybe God should choose Aaron to carry out his plan because Moses didn't feel qualified. I remember all those things, but somehow managed to miss something that to many people is probably obvious . . . like I said, I'm not an Old Testament scholar . . . I'm allowed to overlook the obvious from time to time.
Anyway, I've plodded my way through Leviticus and Numbers and have made it to Deuteronomy. I love how in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses kind of recaps what the people already know and how it helps them and us to relive all of those things. Whether it be Moses telling the people something more than once, or God telling Moses something and then Moses passing it on to the people, it seems that there should be no way you could miss the message God is trying to get across.
Of course, God knew that no matter what he did for the Israelite people there would be many times when they would turn their back on him. And it's easy for us to judge their lack of faithfulness to a God who proved over and over his power and provision for them and overlook the fact that we ourselves do exactly the same thing.
But the thing that intrigues me the most about Moses is how he followed God and led the people, all the while knowing that he would not get the reward of entering the Promised Land.
That is the obvious thing that I missed!
Here it is in Deuteronomy 1:37, " . . . He said to me, 'Moses, not even you will enter the Promised Land!"
What?! I think I would have thrown my hands up and said, "Fine! I quit! What's the use of leading these complaining and disobedient people, eating manna, walking through the wilderness, and doing everything you've asked and not get the benefit of seeing it through to the end? That's just not right!"
Moses didn't do that.
Instead he continued to lead and he even encouraged the people as they got closer to the time when they would cross the Jordan River into the land God had promised their ancestors. I don't know if I could do what he did or say what he said to the people.
When Moses had finished giving these instructions to all the people of Israel, he said, "I am now 120 years old, and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has told me, 'You will not cross the Jordan River.' But the Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy the nations living there, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua will lead you across the river, just as the Lord promised. . . . So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you." . . . Then Moses called for Joshua, and as all Israel watched, he said to him, "Be strong and courageous! For you will lead these people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors he would give them." (Deuteronomy 31:1-7)
Does it make you wonder if that's why God chose Moses in the first place? He knew Moses would be faithful even though he would not get to benefit in the end.
I'm still pondering what exactly I am supposed to gain from all of this. I mean, trying to compare anything in my life to Moses seems ridiculous! Is God trying to teach me something about being like Moses? Or am I supposed to gain something from Moses' words to the Israelites? It certainly is reassuring to hear that "the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you."
Maybe it's both . . . Maybe I need to ask myself if God has placed me in a position where I need to have the faithfulness and diligence of Moses. Maybe God is trying to tell me to be faithful even if the outcome doesn't appear to be what I had hoped for. Maybe God is encouraging me to keep going and not give up.
What is it for you? Are you finding yourself in the position of a Moses? Or are you having to be strong and courageous as you trust the Lord's faithfulness?
I think if I got the chance to talk to Moses I would ask him why he remained faithful through everything, even knowing that he would not be given the chance to experience walking into the Promised Land.
I don't know what he would say, but I like to imagine that he might say something as simple as, "When God asked me to lead, he showed me his power. When God asked me to follow, he showed me his faithfulness. He never failed me nor abandoned me. Who am I to question a God like that?"
It's been a while since I posted and I must say that I have missed it. However, I decided not to force myself to write something if I didn't really have anything worthwhile to say. Well, today I was given a reminder by a 2nd grader that I feel is worth sharing.
While the mild winter that we have been enjoying has been great, I think it's safe to say that students and teachers alike wouldn't complain about a snow day. I was having a conversation today with one of my second grade classes about how nice it would be to have a snow day, but that I didn't think that was going to happen any time soon. After my comment one of the boys in the class looked at me and said, "I'll talk to Jesus about it." I looked into his sweet face, smiled, and said, "That's good. We can talk to Jesus about anything can't we?"
What seemed to be a brief and insignificant conversation has managed to stick with me. As of late, I am learning that the advice from this 2nd grade boy can and should be our first course of action regardless of what we are facing. Talking to Jesus about snow days may seem somewhat ridiculous to my adult way of thinking, but how often do I disregard talking to Jesus about things that I might consider more important? How would my life and thinking be different if I paused to share my thoughts with my Savior and ask for His guidance and wisdom?
Recently, my Sunday School class did a study of the book of Nehemiah. As we worked our way through the account of this servant of God, I was struck by how faithful he was to pray. His story is not one of an easy life, but Nehemiah is an example of a life dependent on communication with God.
Jesus himself is the greatest example of talking to the Father. We see many accounts of Jesus spending time in prayer and communication with God. Luke 5:16 says, "Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray."
I must add that if you have ever done a Bible study or heard a sermon on prayer that there is always the reminder that prayer is not meant to be one-sided. Yes, God wants us to share our heart with Him and bring our burdens, cares, and concerns to him. However, we must then be willing to listen for His response and direction and be willing to follow.
So, whether it be snow days or something that will affect my life for longer than a day or two, the point is that in this life I need to do what my 2nd grade friend suggests.
I need to talk to Jesus about it!
