Paramedic vs Policeman

I LOVE ANALOGIES!!

Last week, as I was visiting a great friend in Nashville, I heard a sermon that has stuck with me all week. While the pastor trailed off on many tangents throughout his sermon, and quite honestly lost me a few times, one tangent led him to demand that the congregation be paramedics rather than policemen. While my mind had been twisted and mangled trying to grasp what exactly he was trying to state in the comments leading up to this statement, everything seemed to unravel in an instant with this brief comment, "We are to be paramedics, not policemen."

As the pastor continued back to the heart of the message, I sat pondering this thought. I was awestruck thinking about how we as Christians often accuse, accuse, accuse, yet we very rarely stop and assist a person "to good health" aka a strong relationship with Christ. Somehow with one sentence, my whole perspective was adjusted. I have never desired to be the accusing, hypocritical Christian, but I fell into the trap. (I wouldn't be human if I hadn't.) I spent my drive home Monday still mulling over this concept from Sunday morning, and I prayed that God would transform me from a policeman to a paramedic in all aspects of my life.

As I shared some intimate time with my Heavenly Father, He spoke to me through a direct application in my life. (I love when a good sermon can be directly applied to my daily life.) My thoughts were pulled toward school and my students. God opened my eyes to the children some would consider the "problem" kids, and I heard Him clearly say, "They need you to be their paramedic." Wow, talk about direct application!! I continued to pray, and I asked God that He would help me to become just that. I asked that He would revamp my attitude. I prayed that He would help me to discipline with love and follow through with encouragement to change the behavior. 

Lo and behold, only God knew what I'd be walking into on Tuesday when I returned. My kids were mean to each other, whiny, and very disobedient. I needed the strength of God, and I needed it quick. I wanted to be the paramedic, but all I could do was call out the misbehavior and move on. On Wednesday, I was led to a book that I had recently purchased called, "The Three Questions." This book led my class into a deep discussion about: 1) When is the most important time. 2) Who is the most important one? 3) What is the right thing to do. Thankfully a student took a Godly perspective of the story, and little did I know, but this book would be the start of something great among my students. I was able to use this story to introduce a "paramedic" aspect, and while change wasn't immediate for the entire class, many of my students quickly changed their behavior. 

I'm still pondering this analogy and trying to figure out what it means in all areas of my life. This message could not have come at a better time, and it totally changed my perspective of Christianity. I mean, we all know we're not supposed to be hypocritical, but do we go out of our way to help those in need rather than just calling out their mistakes or ignoring them altogether? Just something to think about...

The Devil Has No Foothold

If you're from the area or read the few discrete comments made in a previous entry, you know that earlier this school year our school district came under attack for a Bible program offered at school during school. The Bible program was immediately ceased, and the Christian organization in town began devising a new plan of action that would be commendable by the law while also providing this unique program for our elementary students.

At the time this was all happening, I had a child in my class come to me very upset. She was disheartened that the Bible program had been cancelled because her parents would not take her to church and she enjoyed these weekly, 20 minute encounters with God. Whether or not she knew the depth of it all is not for me to judge. I was heartbroken for her, but the situation was beyond my control. However, her pain led me to pray harder for the resumption of the program and to try more diligently to live out a Godly example and sneak "God" comments into my teaching.

Today new Bible forms were sent home. The Christian Association in town has contrived a way to take the kids to an off-campus location every other week for these Bible classes. It will still take place during the day which is permissible because we already attend school more then the required number of hours each day. As I passed out the forms at the end of the day, this same little girl burst into a smile as she ran around the classroom chanting, "We get church! We get church!" It was hard for me to get her to calm down and gather her things to go home. As the smile spread even wider, I knew that this was just another defeat of my God on Satan.

It's children like this little girl that make the Bible program worth it. It's moments like this that remind me that no matter how "bad" things may get, God is in control. We serve an awesome God, and even in the trials His love and grace will always prevail.