You know the nine-year-old who has to play the role of father and mother to his three younger sisters. You’ve held your sophomore math student’s second baby. You’ve cried with students who have lost friends in yet another car accident. You come home burdened for the kid whose only meal for the day was whatever he got in the cafeteria.
Your students come from a dark world. Darker than most of us will ever know. And you are the only light they ever get to see.
Preaching the gospel is important. There’s an old saying that says, “Preach the gospel, use words if necessary.” That’s garbage. The gospel must be spoken. But sometimes it can’t be. You’re probably not allowed to share John 4 and how Jesus’ grace has impacted you with your geography class. So instead, you are doing the next best thing.
You are salt in a decaying world.
You are light in the dark places.
You are a missionary.
You might not ever get to explicitly share the gospel with a student. But you can still be salt and light. When a kid lives in a house filled with violence, uncertainty and heartache, you have no idea what it means for him to walk into your classroom and see your smiling face and to hear your calm voice. You have no idea what it does to that student when you say, “I’m proud of you.” Even when you have to discipline that student, you have no idea what it means to him when you do it in love and with self-control for his ultimate good.
Here’s another familiar saying from Jesus.
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (ESV)
The light that you are sharing is not your own.
It is Christ in you.
So you may not ever get to preach to your school about Jesus.
But everyday, as best as you can, you show your school Jesus.
Jesus has something else to say about that.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” Matthew 25:34-40 (ESV)
Teacher, it’s the end of the year. It’s that time when you’re questioning your career path. Hang on. Your students need you to stand in the gap for them. You might just be the only thing standing between them and absolute darkness and decay.
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This article originally appeared at Jay Sanders’ blog.
