In our study of the Gospels (juniors) and the Gospel of Luke (8th grade) last week, we took a one day detour and looked at love from 1st Corinthians 13. So much of the Gospels deals with the motives for our actions; Paul addresses the same issue at the beginning of his beautiful treatise:
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." (verses 1-3)
As I have done in the past, I had my students put similar thoughts in their own vernacular, framing them with their own points of references. As they always do, they displayed a fascinating-and sometimes startling mature- grasp of life. Here is a sampling, all from 8th graders. Boys are in blue, girls are in pink, and all are used by permission:
If I say I love someone but don't tell them, there is no point in loving them. -Tre'
If I go to church just to convince myself that I'm growing spiritually, I might as well never go. -Jose
If I love my parents but do not show it, I'm not a good son. -Chandler
If I do nothing with my life, I might as well not have lived. -Elly
If I hold things against others, then God should hold things against me. -Natalia
If I like her but do not tell her, there is no love. -Charlie
If I ask for an opinion from someone but then I don't listen to it, I should not have asked at all. -Mitchell
If I play on a team but do not act as part of the team, I should not have joined. -Nic
If I'm respectful to teachers only to be Student of the Nine Weeks, I am not a worthy student. -Bria
If I say I'm always here for you but I leave you when you need me most, I'm a terrible friend. -Diamin
If I tell my siblings to stay away from something but I go towards the same thing, I am a hypocrite. -Roseline
If I act proper in front of teachers for the sake of college recommendations, that is a form of deceit. -Annaliza
If I judge someone before knowing them, then I, too, should be judged by others. -Jean
If I do acts of kindness only for attention, I should just leave it alone. -Micah
If I say I know Jesus but don't pray, I don't deserve to be in heaven. -Craig
If I help the homeless just for community service hours, I might as well be homeless myself. -Emmanuel
If I claim someone as a friend just to cheat off their papers, I should go home and re-evaluate myself as a friend. -Kase
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
No comments:
Post a Comment