Hope everyone had a terrific weekend filled with worship for our most worthy Father! This week, your Kingdom Bloggers are writing on stand out passage from the Book of James. Hope you find blessing in what we share.
James writes a line of scripture that yours truly takes serious and to heart.
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. James 3:1 (ESV)
The KJV translates the word teachers as masters, but the original Greek word is didaskalos and is predominately used in the New Testament to refer to someone who teaches about the things of God (Blue Letter Bible).
So why would God hold teachers to a higher standard?
The answer might seem obvious to some but elude others who hold that God's mercy is equally applied to everyone. Isn't God's mercy equally applied to everyone? I would argue no based on the fact that some come to God's gift of grace after a lifetime of sin. Jesus covered that life just as He did the one who lives a life in close walk with Him. Having said that, I don't believe God loves one more than another. Let me explain...
I have three daughters. I love them equally which means I love them completely. However, my patience may be tried a lot more with one of the three over the course of their lifetime, well, their lifetime that I'm still around to see. Does that one therefore require more love from me? I would argue no. My love is still the same unconditional love (agape) for all three...even if the one feels she may have required more of my love to overcome causing more disappointments.
In the end, each of us is destined to only one of two places for eternity. We each will face our Creator in a revealing moment that will reflect how much, or little, we showed love and obedience to Him with the time we were given here on Earth. Is it possible to disappoint God? Absolutely! But, that doesn't mean that disappointment will lead to an eternity of separation from Him. If disappointment were the damning criteria, I'm afraid Heaven would be near empty of mankind.
Imagine that moment of reckoning, your moment, and you've spent efforts to teach His word in any type of false manner. Being a teacher comes with an inherent or implied notion of knowledge...a position of intellectual trust...people lean on that as truth. Leading just a single person away from the gift of salvation in those duties has an eternal consequence for that person. How crushing to realize that fact when your moment comes! God expects and deserves so much more in a teacher's efforts.
Christians are called to be the salt and the light by Jesus, and I believe part of being the salt involves preserving and protecting the Truth. Doing so is an expectation of God, especially if He has blessed you with a talent for teaching the Good News. Don't disappoint the Father. Take James 3:1 serious as you serve God teaching His word and make Him proud of your efforts for His glory.
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