The Content of the Teacher

Several years ago, Lois and I attended our first Weekend to Remember marriage conference sponsored by Family Life Today. We thoroughly enjoyed it--and recommend it for all couples interested in fostering oneness in your marriage relationship.

While at the conference, my Mom and Dad bought me the book How to Make a Moose Run...And Other Great Things my Dad Taught Me by Gary Stanley who was one of the speakers at the conference.

The book is a collection of anecdotal yet insightful stories from his childhood days. I recently read the following introduction for section three entitled A Teachable Heart Begins in the Teacher:

The greatest teacher who has ever lived once remarked, "The student, a

fter he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher." He said this immediately before observing that you have to take the log out of your own eye before you can ehlp anyone else get the speck out of his or her eye.

Makes a lot of sense--it isn't the content of the class that makes all the difference; it's the content of the teacher.

When the student falls asleep in class, there's only one thing to do: Get a sharp stick and poke the teacher.

I've been thinking much lately of the World's Greatest Teacher--and how He spoke with such authority that the crowds were amazed. And why shouldn't they be! He was Immanuel--God With Us. He was perfect in all that He said and did.

My prayer is to be a teacher who recognizes that the content of my life is more important that the content of my message. And that I would never need the poke of the sharp stick!