Have you ever had a teacher who seemed to get pleasure from using words that should require a license to use?
I’m not the best at classroom learning. In fact, I’m pretty bad. I repeated 7th grade and was in the lowest classes possible in my high school. By senior year, I was down to two academic classes, gym and graphic design, and I was out before lunch.
But on the other hand, if a teacher illustrated while teaching, or tied the lesson into a story, I could repeat it frontward, backward and remember the temperature of the room I was in when they said it.
I came across this passage years back that has stuck with me.
“A wise teacher’s words spur students to action and emphasize important truths.” (Ecclesiastes 12:11 NLT)
Everyone is a teacher at some point in the day or week. If only 15% of what we teach with words will stick with those we are teaching, we need to find new methods, even if it means teaching over banana splits.
It takes love to step outside of our comfortable ways to connect with others. And love is what opens doors and crosses boundaries to illustrate what words can never do alone.
P.S. God could have just saved us with words. But instead He decided to illustrate His point of love by allowing Himself to be brutally beaten by His creation, besides taking the penalty of the sin of those who put their faith in Him. What a great lesson, taught by a great teacher.
