September marks the start of a new school year for many. Perhaps you have started a new apprenticeship or course of study. When it comes to further education, you often have the choice between different schools or universities. For us as followers of Jesus, however, there is a very special school that surpasses every school or university in the world. It is the school of God.
Why is this school so special?
Here we are prepared for eternal life and accompanied individually on the way there.
Jesus Himself is the teacher in this school. Nicodemus, who was one of the spiritual teachers in Israel at the time, once came to Jesus during the night and had to confess: “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do the signs that You do unless God is with him” (John 3:2). Through His own life on earth, Jesus not only imparted the theory but also left us a very practical example. He tirelessly taught people in person, whether on the mountain, in the desert, or from a boat on the lake. In addition to many other parables, He particularly tried to illustrate and bring home to them the kingdom of His heavenly Father. In the same way, He also gave His disciples practical, visible exercises of faith, for example through the miracle of feeding the 5000, Peter sinking on the water, fishing, and in many other cases. In other individual cases, He had to shape their character traits and take corrective action when they wanted fire to come down from heaven out of a sense of revenge or when a dispute of rank arose among them. It should be emphasized that He did everything with a lot of love and compassion and was always ready to help people! What a teacher! We can still have Him as our personal teacher today.
Today, Jesus teaches us through the Holy Spirit. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26). The beauty is that the Holy Spirit can teach each individual according to their personal needs. A teacher who teaches a class of 30 students cannot guarantee long-term individual support. But the Holy Spirit is always there for each individual!
What can this school look like in practical terms?
We learn:
1) Through the sermons in church services
Always go to the service expecting to learn something. Pray before the service that God will speak to you personally and that you will be able to understand what He wants to say to you. You will be amazed at how clearly, understandably, and personally God speaks when you come to the service with a special expectation. The heavenly teacher knows exactly what you are going through and what you need.
2) Through personal Bible reading and study
Pray before every devotion or Bible study. Deepen the content you have read through questions, parallel passages, further translations, etc. Think about it again and again and try to internalize it. Mark the verse that particularly spoke to you. Devotional notes can be very helpful here.
3) Through concentrated prayer
When we become silent in prayer – by this I mean without time limits, time pressure, and distractions (cell phone off) – we can have a personal conversation with God. Through the “conversation in silence,” God can lead you further and show you where or how exactly you can implement the lesson you have learned in your life. Even if a short, concentrated prayer is by no means to be despised, “fleeting minute prayers” should not be a permanent state. In order to progress in the school of God, we need more time of silence and concentration.
4) Through our practical life experiences
If we are attentive, God gives us opportunities to practice what we have learned. These are often life lessons! Do not despair in the school of difficulties or challenges. In spiritual school, you may find yourself in situations where you suddenly feel like you’re on your own – like during a school exam – and think you can’t do it! But it is precisely in such situations that you can know that your teacher is with you and will help you through the exam. Trust Him! Don’t dwell on situations in your life that you can’t understand straight away, but move on.
5) Through corrections
What use would it be if we received a test back, in which we made many mistakes, with the comment “Very good!” – but without any corrections? Don’t be discouraged or resentful about corrections and reproofs in your life, even if they are not pleasant and can often hurt. Humbly ask God to help you improve in the area in which you have been corrected. He has a lot of patience with us!
Learn until the end
If you have been saved, then school has only just begun for you. Don’t sit back in your spiritual life. Don’t stop somewhere in “elementary school,” and don’t stop learning. In the letter to the Hebrews, it says: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food” (Hebrews 5:12). God wants to train us to be “masters” in His service – each in the area He has entrusted to us.
On the other hand, let us remember in humility that our knowledge and insight remain only piecemeal, in contrast to God’s infinite wisdom.
May God grant us all success in reaching the goal, where the prize and reward await us!
Dina Grötzinger
Eppingen, Germany
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