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The twelfth in a series on
restoring the drama to the study of the Word of God.
You
probably heard of the Sunday School teacher who ended every lesson with, “And
the moral of this story is…” One Sunday she couldn’t make it to class. On the
way home the father of one of her students asked, “How’d you like your new
teacher today?” The boy replied with vigor. “She was GREAT! She didn’t have any
morals.”
We
chuckle at the equivocation, and quickly affirm the need for a Sunday School
teacher to be of high moral character. However, Jack Klumpenhower, in his 2014
book, Show Them Jesus, argues that a
good Sunday School lesson is not primarily about a “moral” to the story which teaches hearers something they need to do or be. Following Jesus’ life-lessons (teachings) is
not the same as knowing him.
In the previous devotional I said. “exposition
should aim at motivation for living to the glory of God.” However, the key terms motivation and to the glory
of God speak of something more significant than plugging in a set of “morals.”
Look
once more at the story of the woman beset with hemorrhaging. Notice the wrap up
that I suggested. It focused on Jesus and his character as one who notices the
overlooked. To teach that as “We should do better at noticing others,” is to
settle for a secondary lesson.
This
is Klumpenhower’s point. Turn every story into a spotlight on Jesus Christ himself.
Jesus as Savior and “role model” ought never to remain Jesus the stranger. As
we tell them the STORY of Jesus, we
must tell Them the story of JESUS. If
our hearers do not know him whom they trust they will not see his footprint in
every act of the unfolding narrative and they will not become awed by his character
which is the bedrock of his promises and his saving work.
PREVIOUS: Meaning and Motivation
NEXT: Think Your Way Through
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