Forging Lives
I was on a sixth-grade field trip when I learned an important truth about teaching. The Maritime Museum (a must-see if you are in Vermont) had a blacksmith who made all the nails and other iron works necessary for the ships. As he showed us his craft, he explained that his business was to change the shape of things. How like me, I thought. As a teacher, my primary duty was to change the shape of my students into the image of Christ.
As the blacksmith continued his work, he asked the students why he had to keep putting the iron back into the fire. The answer was obvious. Without the heat there would be no change. It does no good to pound on cold iron. Yet—is that not what we do so often?
Our God is a consuming fire. Unless our students come into regular contact with Him—and that contact melts them into pliable forms, we are wasting our time. What can we do to help? Our very lives must become the live coals off God’s forge.
I have sung "Take Time to Be Holy" all my life, yet only Sunday did I really notice the line "thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see." We want our students to see Christ in us, yet sometimes we forget that they are friends.
I am not advocating fraternization. Jesus had understanding and respect for his disciples. Our desire to be on fire for Christ will never kindle a kindred flame in our students while we hold on to suspicion, bitterness, and self-protection.
The line from the hymn spoke not only of friends but also of conduct. How quick we are to give a testimony instead of be one. One Protestant preacher said, "Most of all, my people need my personal purity." Would that we believe that. Our actions sometimes show that we think the paramount need for our students is to see not our holiness but our efficiency, our graded papers, our flashy bulletin boards.
Like the song says, it takes time to be holy. I had to help my 88-year-old father off his knees this morning. His twice-broken leg and arthritic joints do not allow him the freedom of movement he wants, but he forgets sometimes. His life habit of prayer is far more real to him than his current physical limitations. I am not surprised when visitors thank him for the impact he has had on their lives. They have long since forgotten what he said, but what impresses them is his life.
It has been months since I left that blacksmith’s shop, but every time I realize I am hammering on cold steel I remember. I keep the words of "Take Time to Be Holy" written on the cover of my prayer journal. It helps balance my zeal to hammer with a longing to "Spend much time in secret with Jesus alone."
If we are going to mold the character of the lives we contact, we must ourselves be truly fresh from the forge.
Reprinted from Teacher to Teacher.
Used with permission from BJU Press. For permission to reproduce this article, please write BJU Press.
About Esther Wilkison
Esther has a BS in Elementary Education and a MA in Biblical Counseling. Her teaching experience spans a wide ability and age range in both classroom and home settings. Esther also writes educational support materials and travels as the National Consultant for BJU Press.