Reflection for August 28 – Day 234
Day 234
Isaiah 49-51; Psalm 41; Titus 1
A Reflection on Isaiah 49:6
“…I will make you a light to the nations –
so that all the world may be saved.”
Written nearly 2700 years ago, Isaiah’s prophetic utterance is just as significant for us today as it was when it was written. Isaiah speaks God’s eternal truth that what He gives is THE light of the world for all time.
This particular passage from Isaiah also has personal significance for me. When I entered seminary, went because I felt a call to share His light with as many people as possible during my lifetime. I naively thought that Christianity had a corner on sharing the ONE who was the “light of the world.” I thought the it was the Church that had the exclusive call to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Although this has some merit, we are by far not the only ones who are called by God to be “light to the nations.” Isaiah illustrates to us that over 700 years before Jesus was born, Israel along with us as her descendents received the call to be the “light”. I have also discovered that there are many ways of living out the call to be the “light.”
Some of us do it verbally while others express the light through action. Most of us share the light through both methods as we live out our lives as an illustration that we have been touched by the light. It is a privilege which is not earned but a gift. The following contemporary and true story is just such an example.
In September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a History teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock, did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks in her classroom. When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks. 'Ms. Cothren, where are our desks?'
She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'
They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.' 'No,' she said.
'Maybe it's our behavior.' She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'
And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom. Kids called their parents to tell them what was happening and by early afternoon television news crews had started gathering at the school to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.
The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the desk-less classroom. Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he or she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'
At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it. Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniform, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.
Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. They went halfway around the world, giving up their education and interrupting their careers and families so you could have the freedom you have. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'
By the way, this is a true story. And this teacher was awarded Veterans of Foreign Wars Teacher of the Year for the State of Arkansas in 2006. She is the daughter of a WWII POW.
God’s eternal purpose for our lives is to the His “light”. Light takes many, many forms all of which give glory to God. Let God be in you and let His “light” shine.
Day 234
Isaiah 49-51; Psalm 41; Titus 1
A Reflection on Isaiah 49:6
“…I will make you a light to the nations –
so that all the world may be saved.”
Written nearly 2700 years ago, Isaiah’s prophetic utterance is just as significant for us today as it was when it was written. Isaiah speaks God’s eternal truth that what He gives is THE light of the world for all time.
This particular passage from Isaiah also has personal significance for me. When I entered seminary, went because I felt a call to share His light with as many people as possible during my lifetime. I naively thought that Christianity had a corner on sharing the ONE who was the “light of the world.” I thought the it was the Church that had the exclusive call to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Although this has some merit, we are by far not the only ones who are called by God to be “light to the nations.” Isaiah illustrates to us that over 700 years before Jesus was born, Israel along with us as her descendents received the call to be the “light”. I have also discovered that there are many ways of living out the call to be the “light.”
Some of us do it verbally while others express the light through action. Most of us share the light through both methods as we live out our lives as an illustration that we have been touched by the light. It is a privilege which is not earned but a gift. The following contemporary and true story is just such an example.
In September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a History teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock, did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks in her classroom. When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks. 'Ms. Cothren, where are our desks?'
She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'
They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.' 'No,' she said.
'Maybe it's our behavior.' She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'
And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom. Kids called their parents to tell them what was happening and by early afternoon television news crews had started gathering at the school to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.
The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the desk-less classroom. Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he or she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'
At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it. Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniform, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.
Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. They went halfway around the world, giving up their education and interrupting their careers and families so you could have the freedom you have. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'
By the way, this is a true story. And this teacher was awarded Veterans of Foreign Wars Teacher of the Year for the State of Arkansas in 2006. She is the daughter of a WWII POW.
God’s eternal purpose for our lives is to the His “light”. Light takes many, many forms all of which give glory to God. Let God be in you and let His “light” shine.
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