Holding Forth the Word of Life

Philippians 2:16 (NKJV) I can see a picture in this verse of towers from ages past, built at the entrance of harbors, where fires burned brightly at night to direct ships into port. I also see Bible class teachers as being spiritual fires, standing upon magnificent towers built upon God’s Word. We are one such tower at Tanner, built upon the foundation of Christ. Our teacher’s flames shine intensely bright, continually directing our congregation away from rocks of destruction on the rough seas of adulthood, guiding each one carefully into the harbor of eternal safety. We do it because God’s Word burns hot inside us and we can’t hold it inside. Jeremiah describes it best, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name. But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not” (Jeremiah 20:9). We do it because our love for souls burns hot. Our Bible class teachers spend a lot of time preparing their “fires” each week. Much thought is put into how they can help both children and adults remember Bible events and characters with practical applications to each lesson. They labor making posters, maps, charts, visual aids, bulletin boards, door decorations & handcrafts to make learning enjoyable and their classes attractive and inviting. By this labor they are “holding forth the word of life.” We do it because our fires will bring back many who drift. Many students lift their anchors to venture out of sight into the dark waters of the world. Thankfully, a lot of those weather-beaten mariners who’ve found themselves tossed violently about on the wild and uncontrollable waves of life remembered at least one of the “fires” and, by remembering, found their way back to calmer waters and dropped their anchor into the eternal port once more. Because of that, we continue building our fires. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Pro 22:6). One teacher, one child, and one book can change the world!