Tuesday // 10th September 2024
The Law of the Teacher
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
Philippians 3:12 NLT
An effective teacher always teaches from the overflow of a full life. The Law of the Teacher, simply stated, is this: If you stop growing today, you stop teaching tomorrow. Neither personality nor methodology can substitute this principle. You cannot impart what you do not possess. If you don’t know it—if you don’t truly know it—you can’t give it.
This law embraces the philosophy that I, as a teacher, am primarily a learner, a student among students. I am perpetuating the learning process; I am still en route. I must keep growing and changing. The Word of God, of course, does not change, but my understanding of it does change because I am a DEVELOPING individual. This is why Peter could tell us at the end of his second epistle, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” A person who applies this principle of teaching is always asking, “How can I improve?” Think of it this way: As long as you live, you learn; and as long as you learn, you live.
No matter how it makes you feel, if you want to minister to others, ask God first of all to minister to you. He wants to work through you, but he can’t until he works in you. He’ll use you as his instrument, but he wants to sharpen and cleanse that instrument so it becomes a more effective tool in his hands. All this is true because human personality is the vehicle of effective
teaching.
Your brother in Christ,
Apostle Ashok Martin