Overwhelmed

There are moments when I feel that my vocation as an educator is way, way too big for me. There are moments where I feel so ineffectual and small that I don't have what it takes. There are moments that the classroom feels oppressive and the students feel strange and distant and the marking feels insurmountable and I feel inadequate.

There are moments when I am overwhelmed.

But, thanks be to God, it isn't all about me.

I believe that I am called to teach. I believe that God has given me gifts for teaching. But that doesn't mean I always get it right, that I never fail in my own efforts. I know I am imperfect, but God is not finished with me yet. I'm redeemed, but He's still working on me.

It's Holy Week, so I have redemption at the top of my mind. I sometimes say things like, "Jesus died to pay the debt of my sin." And I really do believe that--His death was atonement for my guilt. But when we think of it only in those terms, maybe we're making Jesus a little too small.

You see, I believe that Christ's sacrifice was for the redemption of the whole world. Not only paying the debt brought on by my sin, and your sin, and the sin of all humanity. I believe Christ's sacrifice means that all things are redeemed: every part of this sin-tarnished creation is being made new! We are living in the already-but-not-yet! Christ is sovereign! His triumph over death gives us confidence that he truly does reign over all things. Now that is an overwhelming thought! It's enough to make me wonder why I was feeling so overwhelmed by my calling to be a teacher.

Fellow Christian teachers, I hope you feel overwhelmed this Holy Week.

But not by your work...by His work. Grace and Peace to you.

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