One Great Class Period

I was privileged to lead Grace College’s Religious Studies Senior Seminar classes this week by virtue of overseeing the school’s youth ministry courses. Here's what we did in Tuesday’s class period:

I shared about the concept of “living the Word out” rather than just hearing the ideas. We looked at James 1:22 – and that real Biblical knowledge is not just the mental understanding of the truth. We talked about all three aspects of real knowledge—knowing, doing, and being. We read the story of the Good Samaritan and discussed the concept that we are to do good and love even our enemies. We then went to James 1:26-27 and talked over the issue that not only are we to love and do good to our enemies—but also to the forgotten and overlooked.

I then told them a story I had heard for my father when he was a student at Grace College and Seminary in the '50s. Dr. McClain was leading chapel that day and began by reading Ecclesiastes 3:1-5. He stopped after the phrase “a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones.” He closed his Bible, and said, “Gentlemen, today is that day!” He then proceeded to cancel classes for the rest of the day, sent everyone home to change clothes, and then the student body cleared the area that is now the campus green/lawn in front of McClain Hall!

After reading Ecclesiastes 3:1-5, and telling the class that story, I said, “Well, Ladies and Gentleman, for us, ‘today is that day.’ Last night and this morning, Winona Lake has been hit with 8-12 inches of snow. I have a map of some widows and elderly people right here in Winona Lake and we are going to go and shovel their driveways and sidewalks. We are then going to pray either with or for them because really understanding the Bible only starts with knowledge but continues on to impact our character, as well as what we do with our actions.”

So that neat group of students, with wonderful attitudes, cleared eight homes in about 50 minutes. We gathered back together, talked about the ministry concept described at the end of Matthew 25 and closed in prayer.

While having Dr. McClain share his words with the class would be been the thrill of a lifetime, something tells me that all of us will remember Tuesday’s class because we discussed and then lived out a biblical truth.

Real understanding only starts with knowledge, but must lead to action and the development of our character to be more like Christ’s.