Stories We Believe
By Mrs Jennifer Spies
Posted on 20 March 2009
About this time last year I was taking a year seven devotions time. In the lead up to Easter I asked students to share how they celebrated Easter. High on the list was eating LOTS of chocolate and hot cross buns, going camping and going to the show, hanging out with cousins and generally spending time with family. As this was a Christian school, I asked if anyone would be going to church. Many students said yes and some even said they would be going more than once. I was surprised that not one had mentioned this earlier.
This got me thinking about the extent to which the stories we believe affect the way we live. Many students in that class believed that Jesus died on the cross so that they might have eternal life. At some stage, they had heard the story and accepted it as truth. Despite this though, not one seemed to think that remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection at Easter was important to mention. I was puzzled as to why celebrating the most amazing thing that God has done for each of us through the death and resurrection of his Son was not at the forefront of their thinking at Easter time.
As a Christian teacher I was greatly challenged through this experience, to be more fully committed to not only telling the stories of the Bible but to challenge students about what it means to engage in these stories. If you are a teacher who believes the story of Christ’s great sacrifice for the sin of mankind, be encouraged to read it or tell it or show it (with an age appropriate film) to students in your care. Go one step further this Easter and share with them how believing in this story has changed your life. Students in your class may have heard this story many times and some of them will believe it. Perhaps no one, however, has ever invited them to be a part of this story in a way that will change their life.
