All teachers are to teach you at the minimum the requirements and objectives of the class. You paid for it you should get it. If you are lucky, certain teachers make that an easy task by using their teaching skills. Yet there are teachers who teach you much more than the class objectives. Some do it through a passion for the subject, while others do it through a passion for the students. It seems that when there is passion; passion becomes contagious. We just catch our teacher’s passion. In my case, my preaching professor taught me just such a lesson.
The lesson I learned from her did not make it into the lectures, nor was it on the objectives or requirements of the course syllabus. I am not even sure she would have thought to include it in her teaching objectives. The lesson she taught was by example—and her example caught me by surprise. In fact I have heard it said about Christianity it is more caught than taught. The lesson I learned was being lived in front of me.
It happened one day after class. I watched as she listened with incredible patience to a student. Trust me, this is not always the rule, all professors do not do listen, not the way she was listening. As I watched this I just kept wondering how long would she listen to this really boring story? I can say this because the fellow telling the story was a friend of mine. He has better stories, but sometimes he tended to ramble, and he was rambling today. I was thinking how long can she act interested in his story? Then it dawned on me, she had always treated every student the same way. She listened to every student. Once that thought passed though my mind, it was only a second more before the epiphany hit me. She really loves and cares for people. I mean not just the emotion love, but the verb love. It is the love that changes the diapers, or stays up all night with a sick friend. It is the kind of love Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians.
For me as I began to live out the example that my teacher set something funny happened. As I acted out of love, I began to feel love. That is, the emotion followed my act of will.
Rev. Patrick Evans
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
