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As a teacher, you want to see transformation in your learners. What, exactly, are you looking for?
- Why?: As a teacher, you want to see transformation in your learners. What, exactly, are you looking for?
- What?: The Holy Spirit uses you, as a teacher, as He transforms your learners into Christlikeness. What does it look like when He does that? Well, Paul gives us one picture in Galatians, chapter 5, where he contrasts the non-believer and the believer. The heart of the non-believer seeks after the world. In verses 19–21, he says, "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." In the very next verses, Paul describes the new heart of the believer: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Is this the fruit you see in your learners? Are they growing as the Holy Spirit changes their desires? Are they self-centered, like non-believers, or are they other-centered, loving God and loving others?
- So What?: It is difficult to know what is really in anyone's heart, so we look for evidences like these. Specifically, we can listen to the things they prioritize in their lives. What do they talk about? Sports or God's glory? What do they pray about? As important as these things are, if their prayer never goes beyond the organ recital (my heart, my lungs, my kidneys), the financial audit (should I buy this house, this car, etc) and the travel itinerary (traveling mercies for my upcoming trip), then they are more self-centered than other-centered as they pray about the effects of sin. If they are being transformed, matured, they become more concerned that there is sin—sin in the world, sin in the lives of lost, sin in their own lives—and they plead for God to intervene and to use them as He does intervene. They want to read God's Word, to talk with God regularly, to be around God's people, and to reach the lost with the good news of Jesus Christ.
- So What Now?: Are you willing to be involved in your learners' lives so that you can see transformation when it occurs and care enough about them that you will do something if transformation does not seem to be occurring?
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By Dr. Danny R. Bowen @ TeachersOfTheBible- Why?: As a teacher, you want to see transformation in your learners. What, exactly, are you looking for?
- What?: The Holy Spirit uses you, as a teacher, as He transforms your learners into Christlikeness. What does it look like when He does that? Well, Paul gives us one picture in Galatians, chapter 5, where he contrasts the non-believer and the believer. The heart of the non-believer seeks after the world. In verses 19–21, he says, "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." In the very next verses, Paul describes the new heart of the believer: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Is this the fruit you see in your learners? Are they growing as the Holy Spirit changes their desires? Are they self-centered, like non-believers, or are they other-centered, loving God and loving others?
- So What?: It is difficult to know what is really in anyone's heart, so we look for evidences like these. Specifically, we can listen to the things they prioritize in their lives. What do they talk about? Sports or God's glory? What do they pray about? As important as these things are, if their prayer never goes beyond the organ recital (my heart, my lungs, my kidneys), the financial audit (should I buy this house, this car, etc) and the travel itinerary (traveling mercies for my upcoming trip), then they are more self-centered than other-centered as they pray about the effects of sin. If they are being transformed, matured, they become more concerned that there is sin—sin in the world, sin in the lives of lost, sin in their own lives—and they plead for God to intervene and to use them as He does intervene. They want to read God's Word, to talk with God regularly, to be around God's people, and to reach the lost with the good news of Jesus Christ.
- So What Now?: Are you willing to be involved in your learners' lives so that you can see transformation when it occurs and care enough about them that you will do something if transformation does not seem to be occurring?