Teach

I've been sharing some of my thoughts on Jesus' command for us in Matthew 28. I've looked at the promise, the call to go, making disciples, and baptism. Today, I'll share my thoughts on teaching:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Ah... teaching. There is value in bringing people in our lives to hear the Word preached at church and sending them to conferences or websites of national teachers. We are certainly not all gifted teachers. BUT- Jesus called all of us to teach, not just the gifted. He didn't challenge us to do anything more than teach them to observe all that He commanded us. Teach them what we already know through Him. Most of our teaching will come as we do life together. We live it out. We give helpful resources that God has used in our lives. We open our Bibles and read it together. We answer any questions we can. And mostly, we look for opportunities to share His Word in our daily life moments. 

I've learned this through my children. They are always watching Andy and me. When we do well, they are learning what awe of God looks like. Other times, they learn what repentance looks like and how to seek forgiveness (when we seek it after we wrong each other or them). God has had me pause from homeschool to watch a crazy lightening storm and then talk about His power and our favorite displays of God in His creation. He's given me opportunities through my 6 year old's questions while riding in the car to explain divorce, ghosts, and having babies. At the beach I've shared about the wise man who built on a rock and the foolish man who built on the sand to teach about hearing and applying God's Word. Just the other day, I shared the man with much debt and Peter asking how often we need to forgive as we talked about forgiving little brother again as he destroyed another beloved book, after he confessed and asked to be forgiven. 


Teaching others means preparing by knowing His Word ourselves. I grow in Him as I seek Him daily in His Word. And He brings His words to my mind as the people I'm teaching ask questions. I won't know to teach others if I'm not already in His Word as a way of life. But it's more than just head knowledge. We also then teach by modeling His Word: loving Jesus openly and living out obedience to His Word, and then looking for opportunities as we are with them in daily life to share His Word with them. It is a command and a gift. Oh, may we be faithful to teach the people He entrusts us with.