Jesus, the Teacher of Teachers

Jesus sent out the twelve, with the following instructions, “…freely you have received, freely give”   (Matt. 10: 5, 8).

Last week Tuesday all the profs here at Redeemer got together for ninety minutes to ponder the question, “what do we learn about teaching from Jesus our teacher?”  As Redeemer’s faculty, we wanted to explore in very practical ways what our theme of the year – “All things held in Christ” – means for us when we walk into our classrooms. 

I wish every member of the Redeemer community could have listened in on the conversation.  Here are a few assorted quotes:

  “The subjects I teach fill me with wonder and humility due to the beauty and complexity

    of God’s creation, and I pray I can transmit just a little of that spirit to my students.”

  “Jesus was a teacher and a shepherd at the same time – he didn’t just teach people’s

   brains, he ministered to the whole person.  I long to do the same.”

  “Jesus taught with grace and truth, challenging people to continue growing in their faith

    by leading them to wrestle with difficult questions and allowing room for suffering and

    struggle.  That inspires and challenges me as a teacher who follows him.”

  “Jesus knew people, and he spoke differently to different people based on this knowing. 

   That’s hard for me because I have large classes, but I want to honour that goal as much

   as I can.”

  “Jesus offered himself as a gift of love.  I am called to do the same, and I begin by

    praying for my students.”

We professors also asked each other the question, “how might our students be called to model Christlikeness?”   The response that stuck with me went like this:  “At our Christian university our goal is not that our students go through their courses but that our courses go through our students.”  In other words, at Redeemer, we are grateful for students who are open to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in the classroom. 

As a professor, I know that what I long to do and what I actually do in my classroom never match up perfectly.  That’s true for all of us:  students, staff, faculty.  But our longings are the deepest engine that drives our actions, and so I was very encouraged listening to the longings of my colleagues. 

All of us who follow Jesus have freely received from him, and have been sent out by him to freely give to others what we have received. 

I invite you to look for glimpses of the deepest longings that live in our community this week.  In what ways have others been giving to you?  How specifically do you long to give to others what you have received from him? 

And how does he hold together the tangled web of longings in your own heart?  Are there ways you can surrender more of that jumbled web to Him?