I had some interesting teachers at school. Mr. Forrester with his wild, bushranger moustache and tendency to throw objects at his students. Mr. Clarke’s raised voice would peel paint off the walls and could be heard in the next postcode. My long-haired music teacher was either a genius or a madman. Likely both.
I haven’t been a student in a classroom for a long time, and yet as I age, it seems like there’s more and more I don’t understand and could still learn. I find it interesting – and reassuring! – that one of the ways God is described in the Bible is as a teacher. A teacher who can guide us through life’s roller-coasters and curve-balls to find joy and peace.
A life of faith – according to the Bible – is a life committed to learning God’s ways and seeking to live according to them. At one level, it might not seem attractive. It’s a whole lot easier to run my life according to my own ways, and my own truth! But when Jesus walked the earth (God in flesh!) he said something that always stops me in my tracks:
Jesus says he is the great teacher – who will share the load with us and walk with us through life, as we learn from him (in the same way that a young ox might have been ‘yoked’ to an older one). And he says that if we walk with him and learn from him, we’ll find rest for our souls.
We often talk about being lifelong learners. The Bible says we need to be. But it says Jesus will be our lifelong teacher whose strength, ways and guidance will lead us to rest. There’s plenty I need to learn. But Jesus promises to be all that I need. Are you interested in walking with him this year? If you want to know more about what that means or you want to learn more about Jesus this year, drop me a line!