The gift of a good teacher

Grace for All

Imitators of Christ

(our theme for October)

Luke 6:40

A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. (NIV).

As a former teacher in college, I recall it can be somewhat intimidating when one of the students appeared to know more about a particular subject—or at least as much—as I did. My students were mostly adults. With the technology that college students bring to class today, it can also be a little intimidating as they can quickly Google a question and answer in a few seconds.

I once had a college professor who brought a half dozen books to his classroom lecture. I now believe he may have been a bit insecure on the subject.

One translation of this verse is, “An apprentice doesn’t lecture the master. The point is to be careful who you follow as your teacher.”

Even when I became fully credited following graduate school, I had never been taught how to teach. In my first teaching job, I tried to teach like my teachers. I found out that it takes some teaching experience to become a good teacher.

I treasure the Bible teachers from which I have learned going all the way back in my life to Vacation Bible School, Sunday school, sermons, Bible studies, the Emmaus Walk and other experiences. Whether it is tennis, pickleball or the Bible, we learn more when we are listening, watching and absorbing knowledge from someone who knows more or is more skilled than we are.

And even if we might know some things the teacher does not know, we should not challenge or embarrass the teacher but seek to become more like them in knowledge and wisdom. We should seek out good teachers who are knowledgeable and well prepared to share that knowledge with others. A good teacher is a gift from God.

Prayer:

Dear God, help us to seek out teachers who will help us gain knowledge and wisdom. Thank you for all the great teachers I have had, and I pray that you will send us more as we want to learn more about you. Amen

This devotional was written by Emmit Rawls and read by Jim Stovall.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.