Bible Reading: John 7:28-29
Then Jesus, in the middle of his teaching, called out in the Temple, “So you know me and know where I have come from? But I have not come of my own accord; I am sent by One who is true and you do not know him!” John 7:28-29, Phillips
GEORGE BALANCHINE WAS a famous ballet teacher/choreographer.
Maury Wills was a baseball player, one of the speediest base runners of all time.
Fra Filippo Lippi was a great Italian painter in the fifteenth century.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an American civil rights leader of the sixties.
Christopher Wren was a renowned architect, who rebuilt much of London after the Great Fire of 1666.
Each of these individuals excelled at something-baseball, painting, statesmanship. But there is something else that each of them had in common with the others: They not only did something well, they taught others.
Balanchine’s students seemed to dance like no one else; his style and genius was evident in the techniques of those who learned from him. Lippi was a great artist, but the fame of his students-such as Sandro Botticelli and his own son, Filippino Lippi-equaled or excelled his own. Martin Luther King Jr. changed the face of American politics; those who learned from him (such as Andrew Young and Jesse Jackson) extended his influence. Christopher Wren was a genius in the field of architecture, but many young architects since his time have been influenced by his work.
Those people were “masters,” individuals who became so good at what they did that other people worked hard to learn from them and imitate them.
Well, when it comes to morality-knowing and doing what is right-there is only one Master, and that is God. Everyone else among us fumbles around, sometimes doing right but often doing wrong. Only God is good (Mark 10:18). And he is good all the time. He is the Master we must all learn from.
Not only that, unlike Balanchine, Lippi, King, and Wren, God is not only skilled in his “field,” he is the Creator and originator of everything that is good. In other words, the reason honesty is right (for example), is because God is true. There is nothing false in him. And because God is always true, he wants us to tell the truth and to be honest in everything we do.
REFLECT: How many schoolteachers (including Sunday school) do you think you’ve had? Which teacher do you think has had the most influence on you in the area of honesty?
Do you think people would describe you as real and truthful? Would you describe yourself that way? How can you be more like the “Master” in truthfulness?
PRAY: “God, I need your help to be truthful to _____________ today.”
