We have to admit a certain fear as the new semester approaches. Not so much about the teaching/befriending itself. What incites fear in us is the realization that we, with all our insecurities, faults and failures, are again being given the opportunity to be apart of 13,000 student lives. We think of the influence some of our college instructors and leaders had on us, positive and negative, and we wonder what impact we will have when these students look back some day.
This past week students have been piling back on campus for the fall semester, and we have been occasionally checking the campus stores and dorms for activity. With that on our mind, we have been reading some scripture & writings and processing what is on our hearts:
“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” — John 7:38
“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship. . . . It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another. . . . Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations —these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.” — C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
Father, once again we are awed by the responsibility you have given us, the opportunity to speak into the lives of students this coming semester. Right now we have over 25 students that we regularly meet with and over 300 we teach from diverse backgrounds with a variety of interests, cares, concerns, expectations, and experiences. They come with a range of attitudes toward us from enthusiasm & openness to fear & resentment. Out of the students that we will come in contact with, some will face health problems, personal problems, and family issues we can’t even imagine. Some will show anger or bitterness towards us because of our nationality. Many will be scared as they start their freshman or senior year and they prepare to enter a world that feels hostile to them. You have given them to us this semester. We don’t know what you’ll be doing in their lives this semester, but it looks like we’ll be a part of it.
Father, may we give our classroom and home over to you.
Father, we give our rooms & house over to you. We’ve dedicated our home to you in the past, but this semester we put the physical space of our classrooms into your hands. We ask for your presence to be felt there, that your love would flow. Help us to recognize that these rooms you have prepared for us is Holy Ground, and that the students in it are immortal beings. Help us to see that you are there ahead of us, already at work in the lives of each student in the class. This is a huge responsibility and a tremendous honor. We pry for your guidance as we deliver lectures and guide discussions that challenge students and take them out of their comfort zone. We pry for words to speak clearly and explain difficult concepts. We ask you to put the words of Truth in our mouth that will nudge students toward a deeper knowledge of you and a better understanding of the world around them. We pry that the classroom be a safe place where students can learn from their mistakes and grow into the men and women You have called them to be.
We pry for protection, Father, protection against saying things that may hurt students or offend them. We pry for protection against comments that may be ambiguous or easily misunderstood. We pry for wisdom as we intentionally raise difficult questions and challenge students’ worldviews, that students trust us as a teacher and a friend even when they do not understand our methods or appreciate our approach. We pry for your grace so that even when we mess up, when we do come to class underprepared, when we don’t know the answer to students’ questions, when we unintentionally offend, that You would redeem our weakness, that these would become moments of learning and grace.
We pry also for the students who will struggle. We know from past experience that some may cheat or plagiarize, in particular given the pressure to perform well in a foreign language. We pry that you would help us to support them in the extra challenges they face in our class, both language and culture. Help us to recognize what they can bring to the class, new perspectives and ideas that push us out of our comfort zone. May Your living water flow through us as they encounter not only us, but also You in us.
We give our house to you as well, Father, and our time. We ask that You reside there, that Your presence be felt in the conversations that take place. Given the kinds of classes we teach and the issues students face, there will likely be conversations that go far beyond the academic. As students “open their souls to scrutiny,” help us to treat them with the respect they deserve, that Your love and Your life would flow through us, that your living water would wash over them. Help us to respect and love them even when they fail to meet the standards set for them by their parents, the university, or us. Help us to pry for them; grant us wisdom about prying with them. I pry that far beyond what they learn about the “nations, cultures, arts, and civilizations” of this world they will come to better appreciate the immortal beings around them, their friends, roommates, & teachers, and to focus on Your eternal presence in their lives.