Do you recall a time when you were lost? I still remember vividly a time almost 45 years ago when I was part of a small group who became lost on Cradle Mountain in Tasmania. During our bushwalk, the weather had closed in and we were all ill-prepared for the change in temperature. In that moment of feeling lost, unable to see the way out, I can still remember the churning in my stomach and the fear that gripped my heart. What could be worse than when a person realises they have lost their way as a human being and are not sure why they are on this planet?
The core beliefs of the Christian faith – creation, sin, ruin and redemption have made it the most powerful life and culture changing force in human history. Transformation of lives begins in each individual heart. In our culture where our children are encouraged to do what is right in their own eyes, we must re-affirm that our relationship with the Lord is shaped and nourished by His Word. Our Father invites us to taste and see that He is good.
Biblical theology and spirituality go hand in hand for God does not put us in charge of forming our own spirituality. Theology – the revelation of God and how He works – must not be separated from the way we live. Nor are our spiritual lives to become separated from truth to be shaped by our own feeling about what is self-fulfilling.
“The Christian Scriptures are the primary test for Christian spirituality. Christian spirituality is, in its entirety, rooted in and shaped by the Scriptural text. We don’t form our personal spiritual lives out of a random assemblage of favourite texts in combination with individual circumstances; we are formed by the Holy Spirit in accordance with the text of Holy Scripture” (Peterson, 2006, p. 28)
We are called to “Eat this Book” by reading it, listening to it and meditating on it both in our personal times with the Lord and in community with brothers and sisters in Christ as the Word of God is taught and shared. Receiving the words means they become embodied in our lives flowing into thoughtful worship of our Heavenly Father, practices of prayer, acts of obedience and expressions of the sacrificial love of Jesus. Only by the words of Scripture being internalised will we truly know Christ as He is revealed and live as He designed.
When we spend times sharing the Word of God with our students, it is not as another subject text to study. We listen to it together, not to master and pass tests on it but to allow it to master us and shape our lives of faith.
When students enter our classroom, we offer them a temporary home where we shape the patterns of their lives together in which they will learn and be formed. In one of his parables, Jesus likened the teacher to a host who brings out the old and new treasures of the Kingdom. (Matt 13:52) As we taste and see that the Lord is good, teaching becomes an act of sharing ‘the bread’ in a fellowship of learners. As image-bearers of God, all students are welcomed to belong and be loved. The learning is nourishing and the learners not only take responsibility for their own learning but that of their peers. Their learning shapes their character and helps them to see the world and their place in it through the Father’s eyes.
May the Lord strengthen and sustain you as you feast upon His Word.
“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. I gain understanding from your precepts, therefore I hate every wrong path.” (Psalm 119:104)
Grace and Peace
The Excellence Centre
Reference
- Peterson, E, (2006). Eat this Book. Hodder & Stoughton