While working on one of my grad school classes a few years back, I recall doing a paper on curriculum evaluation. One of the articles discussed how important it is to make sure your children’s Bible curriculum is focused on God and not the Bible character. The main idea should be on the greatness of God, not the greatness of David, etc. God should be the hero in every Bible story! I found this most intriguing, and I even started evaluating my own lessons in that light. (John Walton from the article "Bible-Based Curricula and the Crisis of Scriptural Authority" in Christian Education Journal-Spring 1993)
When you consider I Corinthians 10:11-13 (mentioned in last week’s blog), one can see that God truly should be the emphasis of our Bible lessons. Notice the middle of verse 13: “…God is faithful.” Facts about David’s great feats, without crediting God for His role, are not going to change a child’s life. But, teaching the faithfulness of God in the lives of these Bible characters will. These examples serve as reminders that we can trust God to guide us through the challenges and ‘uncertainties’ of life.
Last week we discussed how Martha needed a little nudge and a gentle reminder to encourage her to take the step of faith needed to permit Lazarus’ tombstone to be removed. This in itself could be one of the examples referred to in the Corinthians passage mentioned above.
As discussed in the “Sweet Surrender” blog (May 1), examples of God’s faithfulness can also be seen in the lives of dear, godly friends. This is what I would like to dwell upon today. Do you have stories and examples of God’s faithfulness in your life that would serve as a little nudge or gentle reminder to a dear friend who may be going through a tough, overwhelming circumstance? Or, maybe she (or he) has a difficult decision to make regarding the future. Does she need to take a step of faith?
In 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 we learn from Paul that God comforts us so that we in turn may bring comfort to others going through the same trials.
Today, I want to encourage you to be a ‘nudger’ and a ‘reminderer’ to those in whom you know that may need that little nudge in order to remain faithful to the cause of Christ and to take those steps of faith.
One way to do that is to keep track of specific examples of times when God demonstrated His faithfulness to you and/or your family. Carol Kent recommends in her book, Speak Up with Confidence, that you “WRITE THINGS DOWN” so you never forget the details. So many times, it is the details that demonstrate that only God ‘could have pulled that off’.
Be ready to share those experiences in your Bible Study group or Sunday School class. You never know just who may need that gentle reminder at that moment. Listen to your friends. Do you recognize a situation that you once found yourself facing? Invite that scared, nervous, or overwhelmed friend for coffee and share what God did in your life during a similar struggle or ‘scary’ time.
Just remember, whenever you have a story to tell—make sure God is the hero!
You may want to refer to my February 4th blog “Comfort Zone” and add “Become a ‘nudger’ to the list of things that timid “Marys” can do to show compassion.
Keep nudging!
Debbie
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