The Ultimate Teacher

“Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” Romans 2:4 (NLT)

Teacher’s week! I’ve been at it for about 6 years now. Even with a few years of experience under my belt I still have so very many lessons to learn. Aren’t we thankful that God is the ultimate teacher?

1. Patience. Oh my. I had no idea how much of it I would need when I signed up to be a teacher back in my sophomore year of college. Ever since God has been slowly, but surely, working with me. Do I excel at it every day? Most certainly not! Can I see how far He’s brought me?! Most certainly yes! I’ve learned through much trial and error that my students rarely respond positively when I’m impatient with them. Aren’t we all thankful for how patient God is with us?

2. Teaching has also taught me a great deal about God’s relationship with me. I see so much of myself in my students. I get frustrated, am always rushing at 100 mph, and rarely think before I speak. Countless times while I’m disciplining my students, God gently taps me on the shoulder and reminds me that He desires to teach me the same lesson. It would be nice to have even a fraction of the patience God has with me for my students. Aren’t we thankful that God never gives up on us even when it takes us countless tries to learn our lesson?

3. There’s so much I have yet to learn about the faith of a young child. Many times, without question, my students follow along with my instructions and assignments. If I think about it too much it’s quite terrifying. How many times do we react the same way when God hands us a set of instructions to follow? Do we constantly raise our hand and ask a million questions? Or do we simply trust His direction and remember that He knows best? Aren’t we thankful that God still desires to work with us despite our never-ending questions?

4. On most days when I show up to work I’m excited to be there and ready to show my students everything new and exciting. Some days though I’d much rather crawl back into bed instead of dealing with their constant playground drama and complaining. I can’t imagine the view from where God sits and the drama and mess we’ve put ourselves in. But does He crawl back into bed and give up on us? Absolutely not! He never gives up on us no matter the knots we’ve tied around ourselves. All He does is bend down gently, untie the mess we’ve made, and set us back up to try again.

I could keep going on with the many lessons God has taught me over the years through the hundreds of students that have been entrusted to my care. But the ultimate lesson that keeps circling back is His uncanny ability to always be there exactly when I need Him. Always leading. Always guiding. And always, always being more patient with me than I could ever be with my students.