December 13

Last night I went with Joel and my mother in law Rhonda to the D'Evelyn High School Choir Concert. Kudos to them, by the way--they did a great job. It brought me back to my own choir days--all through jr. high, high school and college! Thanks to my parents for attending all those concerts!

At the end of every Christmas Concert at D'Evelyn, they ask all alumni to join them on stage. All of the choirs, plus a small orchestra and piano sing a beautiful version of the Hallelujah Chorus. What a great tradition. It was so well and done and very moving. As a Christian, it truly was a great worship experience.

As you may know, there is a time honored tradition to stand when this piece is played. The story goes (although it cannot be confirmed to be true) that when the piece was played for the first time, King George II of England stood during this piece and the audience followed suit. Another story says that it was the composer Haydn who bean this tradition saying "He is the master of us all". Either way, it's a long standing tradition and one that I like.

As the piece began, an older gentleman in the front of the auditorium stood first, followed by the remainder of the audience. I settled in for a great performance. And then I noticed that the young high school student--the very same one who had been messing around the entire concert--remained seated. With his hat on (this is another big inside-the-building no-no for me)! I couldn't believe it! I began to get so angry. And then I realized, I, as a teacher, had the responsibility to teach him the proper musical etiquette--we are in a school after all.

So at the end of the piece, I leaned over and whispered "It's appropriate to stand during that song." I received the typical "high school glare". If you're not sure which one I'm talking about, you'll know when your child hits about 13. It seems to plague all high school students at one time or another.

I believe it is our responsibility as adults to help educate those who are younger. We have learned many lessons throughout our lives and I think we should share those with others. I have learned a great deal from older, wiser adults and for that, I am grateful.

I think this is especially true in the Christian world. I am saddened when I see retirees move off to retirement communities because they are no longer a part of our churches and neighborhoods. Their wisdom is isolated to a small community of their peers. Who will I learn from? And who will be my child's role model? The learning doesn't just have to come from retiree-age people though. It can also come from those who are more mature in their Christian walk.

Finally, I think we, as Christians, also have a responsibility to teach those who do not know Jesus about the love of God. Even when we may be afraid to offend someone or that the truth will be rejected, we still have a responsibility. If we don't teach them, who will?

What older or wiser Christian do you have in your life to help lead you through this difficult life?

What younger person do you have in your life that you can be a positive Christian influence on?

What non-believers do you have in your sphere of influence? How will you teach them about the love of Christ this week?

Service Opportunities
1. Ask God to provide an opportunity for you to mentor someone in your church.
2. Seek out someone (or a couple of people) who can help be a positive influence on your life.
3. Take advantage of opportunities to thank God specifically in front of your non-Christian friends. It might sound like "God really protected me when I got a flat tire on the highway." Or, "God really blessed me this Christmas by..."
4. Study some of the great mentor relationships in the bible--Paul and Timothy might be a good place to start.
5. Be gentle when teaching others. (I know sometimes I simply get angry when I think someone should know something--like standing during the Hallelujah Chorus--but they may honestly not know. You can't fix something you don't know you're doing wrong.)
6. Go out on a limb. Be a Sunday School teacher. Volunteer to work with the jr. high or high school group at church. It's not as scary as you might think.
7. Bake a birthday cake for Jesus and invite some of the neighborhood children over to celebrate. Invite their parents!
8. Ask God to soften your heart so when others teach you, you are ready to listen.

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens antoher." Proverbs 27:17