March 20, 2019

Q: What? Me a teacher? A: Yes, indeed you are!

Read: John 1:1-13

Education is an important subject for people the world over. It is thought to be the key to a brighter, happier, and more prosperous future. We begin to teach our children in their earliest years, and, for many, the stream of education continues into college and graduate school. For some, a mid-career change may necessitate re-training. Even in retirement many folks enhance their lives by taking a variety of enrichment classes. It seems there is always something new to learn in our complex, fast-paced, and ever-changing world. Yet all the value of the world’s learning comes to end. For it is temporal, and serves but in the time/space framework.

Beyond what the body’s senses perceive, beyond all the images we have made and all the familiar things of Earth, lies another world – not lit by lamp or Sun, but illumined with a perpetual, spiritual light. This is the light of Love Itself. Here a hymn of praise is sung from the created to the Creator. If in perfect stillness and quiet we momentarily forget the world the body’s eyes perceive, we may recall a wisp of this beautiful melody and catch a glimpse of the holy light that encompasses all that is there experienced. Its contrast with the darkness and density of the temporal realm could not be more striking. As we look about our world with honesty, we see one that is weary and worn. Strife, competition, pain, and hopelessness are found in every corner of the globe.

Into this world God sends His teachers. Who are they? Any and all who choose to become teachers of God. Somehow, somewhere they have made a deliberate choice to be part of God’s answer. They have not perceived their interests as apart from another’s. They have seen the light and responded to God’s call, choosing to serve not themselves alone, but the great Creator and Sustainer of all that is.

In both Matthew and Luke, Jesus tells us that we cannot serve two masters. We will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. We have but two choices: to serve God – or not. Let us not be tempted to believe there are alternatives from which to choose. If Jesus Christ appeared to us today in all his glory asking us to join the ministry he began some two thousand years ago, how would we respond? For Christ is here, and he is asking.

To teach is to demonstrate, and we accomplish this in everything we say or do, even in what we think. It is a process that goes on continually. Bearing in mind that there are only two thought systems, we commit to one or the other: the way of the world, or the path that leads back to God. It has also been said that to teach is to learn. We reinforce in our minds that which we teach, so that teacher and learner are actually the same. We need, then, to ask ourselves one very significant question: “What is it that we want to learn?,” remembering that this will determine what we teach. If we want to be forgiven, we must forgive. If we want to be loved, we must love. If we want to be blessed, we must bless. In Galatians we read: “God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, so shall one reap.”

We are all children of light. As the creations of God, how could our essential selves be otherwise? But first we must accept that the light is in us. Once we have accepted this fact, it makes no sense to “hide it under a bushel.” Letting our light shine forth is a sign that we have remembered our Creator and our relationship to Him. As it kindles the light in others, they, too, will remember their Creator and shine on us in gratitude for the gift we have given them. Thus does the light grow brighter still, becoming ever more attractive. The world’s meager offerings compare to it not at all. As Paul states in Ephesians: “For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.”

Summarizing the work of the Master Teacher: teach only love, for that is what you are.

Sincerely,
Doug Dykstra