Scripture: The Psalmist wrote, “As the deer
pants for streams of water,so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts
for God, for the living God.”, Psalm 42:1-2a, NIV Teaching has
its joys. It is always a pleasure to see someone succeed, especially when
they have taken a thought or premise, and moved to a higher level. Whether
in the classroom, the home, or the workplace, we all have seen that moment
when someone grasps the knowledge and masters the skill of a new (for them)
achievement.
There is an expression, “Give him a fish, and he will
eat for a day; Teach him to fish, and he will feed himself every day.” That
is the ultimate test: when the student can use the information as a means
to greater achievement.
For any teacher, there is no ‘high’ greater than working
with someone who is ‘thirsty’ for knowledge. Those who seek answers. Someone
who is passionate about learning.
Working with such persons, I am reminded of the sheep
when we turn them into a new paddock (small patch of new grass.)
They are eager to move on. All I have to do is open the gate, and they move
in and go to work. I don’t have to cut the grass, or stuff it into their
mouths. I don’t even have to lead them to each mouthful! I just have to open
the gate.
Not all students are like that, however. Again, whether
at school, in the home, or at the workplace, some resist any attempt to
‘feed’ them something new. They balk, they resist, nothing moves them. I
will never forget a student in the first formal class I taught, who had
resisted all efforts to get him to do the required work, didn’t turn in
homework, and wouldn’t take notes. He came up to me in the middle of
the semester exam, almost in tears, and said, “Mr. Hubbell, I flunk!”
The Psalmist spoke from the viewpoint of the successful
student, in Psalm 42: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul
pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”
Take time to look at things from God’s perspective.
He has given us all things; He has laid out all the universe in front of us.
He will open the gates for us. All we have to do is ‘eat’ of His bounty,
to ‘drink’ of His knowledge.
He has prepared teachers for us - prophets, preachers,
and leaders. It is up to each of us to move forward, to learn, to “feed
on His word.”
How sad that so many people have no passion for learning,
as illustrated in the Bible, and evidenced in our society today. So
few souls thirst for God, for the living God. No wonder Jesus looked out
over Jerusalem, and wept..... (John 11:35)
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