“Behold God is exalted by His power; Who teaches like Him?” (Job 36:22)
When we reflect back on our own school days, there are teachers that we really liked and whose memory brings a smile to our face and in our heart. Equally so are those teachers who for one reason or another didn’t make the ‘favorites’ list.
It is those teachers who showed genuine interest in our welfare and our learning … who even in times of seeming toughness helped us along to be our best and to establish foundational principles that would carry us on through life that we are most proud of and thankful for. The best teachers are the ones who don’t just disseminate facts; they share knowledge, experience and help to lead us down a better path of life! My third and fourth grade teachers will always be on my ‘favorites’ list because they inspired me and they instilled the desire to acquire the art of learning in everything I did! Thank you Mrs. Kenworthy and Mrs. Sexton!
Our God is the greatest Teacher of all! It was Job’s younger friend Elihu who asked the question at the top of this blog and it is worthy of our thought time and reflection for both ourselves and for our young as they begin a new chapter in their lives, “… Who teaches like Him?” The answer is no one! He is always faithful, trustworthy, and always knows the right answer, the right way and the right path for us to take. Always! There will be many teachers in each of our lives, some good, some not-so-good, and some bad! There will be teachers who will teach what is right, true and accurate. There will be some teachers who will infringe on truth, substitute personal ideologies and even untruth. But God will never lead us astray.
The textbooks of men are just that, writings composed by men and they have their place in life to inform, prepare and enable us to succeed in whatever endeavor or career field we choose. But there is no textbook that can make the true claim of being “God-breathed!” Only the Bible can make this claim and with unerring accuracy support the claim. The fact of the matter is every subject that we have the opportunity to study and investigate ought to be placed alongside God’s inspired Word! Our God, the Creator of this Universe, has been teaching humanity … those of all ages … since the very beginning of time. It is in God and by His will that each of us live, move and have our very being and existence!
The ultimate questions about our lives and even about life itself come down to our relationship with God or the absence of that relationship. Attempting to learn any subject without consulting the truths of God’s Word can and will lead us down a road that is fraught with danger and ultimately a dead end! We must help our young to remember that it is our God who put in motion the laws of nature and physics, established the principles of mathematics, the ability to communicate in language, and it is the Lord God who created the human body and all of the accompanying truths that continue to be discovered by the science and medical communities!
Our great Teacher has given us a mind to think with … a will to purpose with … and the emotions to enhance our existence. It is He who gives the young, the middle-aged, and the older the opportunity to increase and grow in wisdom, knowledge and understanding through the reading, consulting and meditating upon His Word. Read the words of the Psalmist recorded in Psalm 119:97-105 with special emphasis on verse 99 … this is how God says it can be for each one of us and for our kids and grandkids!
Remember that no one, no teacher, no professor, no educator, no friend, no politician, no movie star or sports icon … no one is exempt from the truths and the principles of God’s revealed will for man is the Bible! To the degree that any or all of the above mentioned folks are consistent and faithful to the teachings of the Bible … we can and should listen to them with the truth in mind that one day all of us will be judged by His Word!
Who is your favorite teacher? Mine is God, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end!
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
No comments yet.