(This is the third installment of an entry from last week.) In our study of the Gospels, my sophomores and eighth graders took a one period 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 recently, 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:
"If I forgive strangers for little unimportant things but I'm not able to forgive those who are closest to me, my forgiveness is useless." Kaitlyn
"If I help a friend in need and use it against him later, then that is not love." Soren
"If I say I want to follow God but don't invest time or money to people less fortunate, then my time on earth is pointless." Imani
"If I show love and affection to my grandparents just so they will give me money or a good present, I should not even bother talking to them." Carson
"If I love my dog and treat my sister with hate, how can I love anyone?" KC
"If I dedicate my heart and soul to soccer but do not give God the glory, I might as well quit." Soren
"If I write a paper but end up plagiarizing, I should not have written it in the first place." Emily
"If I do good deeds in front of people, then don't do good deeds when no one's looking, I'm disobeying God." Warren
"If I want a great husband but don't want to commit to a relationship, then I don't want true love." Chelsea
"If I donate money to the poor just for the tax write off, then I should have just bought a car." Tom
"If I try to make myself better, but refuse to let go of the main thing holding me back, why set goals at all?" Princess
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
http://www.hawleybooks.com/
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
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3 comments:
great post! Indeed we all need to learn the unconditional love of the Lord.
If we SEEK first His kingdom (which includes his character and fruits of the spirit) we will come to KNOW His precious love for us in a greater measure! I love the last statement made, though they were all good!
Thanks for sharing!
Your walk with the Lord is much appreciated by this believing sister in Christ.
Looking forward to reading and being edified by what the Holy Spirit puts on your heart to write!
sonja
This is so great. These kids really get it. I got a huge smile reading this. Thanks for all your hard work, this is a great assignment. I'll say a prayer that they'll remember it. His Word never goes out void. God bless!
God's love is unconditional and everlasting. The student comments were great.
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